In a year when the coronavirus outbreak meant ecommerce penetration across all retail categories exploded, social media has also come into its own as a sales channel. 

Data from the Royal Mail’s annual Delivery Matters study in October found that 25% of shoppers purchase items after seeing posts or comments about them on social media, up from around 15% in 2019. 

The phenomenon is particularly prevalent among younger shoppers – 47% of those aged 18-34 have done so. It’s also more prevalent among women than men.