Facebook vs Instagram: the Key to Social Commerce

Since their advent, social networks have facilitated interaction between consumers, who create and share content based on their experiences with products and services. However, over the past few years, social networks have also become a powerful sales channel. By 2027 they are expected to generate approximately $605 billion.

This integration of social networks and electronic commerce is known as s-commerce or social commerce, a new concept that can be distinguished from traditional electronic commerce, particularly owing to a greater interaction between consumers. Specifically, commerce on social networks can rely on factors such as trust, social support, purchase intention, perceived risk and loyalty.

According to Statista, the most popular s-commerce platforms among online shoppers in 2022 were Facebook (33%) and Instagram (24%). Although both of these social networks offer similar features, there are important differences in their type of content and user profiles. Since they are the most relevant social networks, and in order to investigate the factors that drive s-commerce on these platforms, we published the article “Impact of consumer interaction on social commerce intention comparing Facebook and Instagram” (The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, 2024), which provides a theoretical basis for research on this phenomenon.

This study is based on various theories that propose different approaches.

• Social identity theory focuses on personal and group identities. In a virtual context it explains the behavior of users in online communities and during interaction. Consumers establish a sense of belonging, emphasize their identity and that of groups, and tend to reject those who do not share common interests. This theory helps explain the popularity of social networks and the support generated among the members of online communities.
• Social comparison theory suggests that people assess opinions and abilities by comparing attributes to physical standards. It emphasizes the similarity between people and the influence of social support in electronic contexts. Researchers use this theory to study consumer behavior and the influence of groups in s-commerce.
• Social support theory shows that the benefit of social support emerges from the exchange of information about being loved, appreciated and valued as a member of a social group. Social support comes from sources such as family, friends or coworkers, as individuals attempt to satisfy social needs through interaction. This theory helps us understand the types of social support experienced in physical and virtual contexts, as well as their differences.
• Trust transfer theory explains that the trust perceived by a known person or entity can be transferred to another relatively unknown person or entity through the different relationships existing between them. This theory improves our understanding of how user-generated interaction in s-commerce transfers trust between members of an online community.
• Social network theory refers to the formation of groups with shared interests and characteristics. With its interconnection, subgroups and information flow, s-commerce provides a basis for using this theory, identifying trust and risk in social commerce contexts as variables that influence behavior and the intention to participate in these activities.
• The technology acceptance model (TAM) predicts the intention to use technology, considering its perceived usefulness and ease of use. Perceived usefulness and ease of use can serve to determine a user's behavior in relation to the intention to use e-commerce and s-commerce.

Social commerce communities and trust

Technology advances have led to a paradigm shift in electronic commerce, driving the emergence of the s-commerce phenomenon. The definitions of s-commerce vary from social technology that facilitates interaction between consumers, to the available commercial activities for shopping, and the interaction generated through social networks at any stage of the process.

Platforms make it easier for consumers to carry out the direct exchange of information on previous experiences. There can be three types of exchanges:

1. Ratings and reviews: They allow consumers to write, extract and share information about products and services from previous purchasing experiences, which benefits other potential customers.
2. Recommendations and references: They are characterized by a trust-building function owing to the absence of sensory experiences in online shopping.
3. Forums and communities: They form the basis for electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM), since they allow users to offer support and share previous purchasing experiences.  

Trust is crucial in social relationships and in individuals' expectations about the consistency and reliability of an exchange. It is also decisive in s-commerce, since buyers experience high levels of uncertainty when making online payments. The absence of physical interaction between buyers and sellers in digital purchase processes means that trust will mitigate the perceived risks.

Both individuals and contexts play a role in generating trust. In an s-commerce setting, trust between members of a community can create a rapport to believe in others through the transfer of information. Moreover, the presence of interpersonal trust can generate trust towards an organization. Therefore, the transfer of trust can be generated with the support of a trusted third party, since it can be passed on from one user to another or from sellers to buyers.

Beyond trust: perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use

Logically, consumers adopt new technologies when they perceive them as useful and beneficial, but above all when they improve their performance. The concept of perceived usefulness, defined as the degree to which a person believes that using a system improves his or her performance, is an important predictor for the adoption of new technologies.

In s-commerce, consumers view the use of social networks as beneficial in terms of saving time and money, proximity, access to information and entertainment. The technical features implemented, in particular, can influence the usefulness perceived by consumers. Regarding the purchasing process, research has found that social networks display a strong perceived usefulness for obtaining information before buying a product or service.

Furthermore, perceived ease of use, defined as the degree to which a person believes that using a system is effortless, is the second key element in accepting a new technology. This concept refers to people's subjective evaluation of the technology’s performance and its required level of effort, but does not necessarily reflect the objective reality. Compared to purchasing in physical environments, ease of use depends on the likelihood of the new technology being accepted, determined by whether it is simple to use and simplifies the purchasing process.

In this sense, both variables –perceived usefulness and ease of use– are important for determining the acceptance of s-commerce. Consumers tend to prefer reading other users' comments or product descriptions to listening to sellers. Additionally, consumers claim that they prefer shopping online compared to through a salesperson.

Facebook vs Instagram

Through our study, based on a survey of 800 social media users, we propose a model that can predict the intention of Facebook and Instagram users to engage in s-commerce.

The empirical results confirmed that interaction and communication between users through forums and communities, ratings and reviews, and recommendations and references, builds trust between members of the social network. Thus, the content generated and shared by users influences other consumers’ trust in buying or selling through social networks.

The most interesting conclusion of our study is that social interaction between users directly and positively influences their decision to use Facebook and Instagram during the purchasing process. However, it also depends on other variables such as perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use, not just trust.

This research also contributes to identifying significant differences between the relationships of the same model for Facebook and Instagram. Although Facebook is based on reciprocal and Instagram on non-reciprocal following, the results did not reveal any significant differences between the models proposed for both networks. Survey respondents confirmed that they can obtain valuable information from other users, which helps them in their purchasing decisions.

This similarity may be due to the fact that both networks belong to Meta Platforms, Inc. Since the acquisition of Instagram by Meta in 2012, the functionalities of both networks have become increasingly similar. Nevertheless, there are differences in the classification of factors related to s-commerce engagement intention. Perceived usefulness had the greatest influence in the Facebook model, while ease of use had more impact in the Instagram model.

These results reveal practical implications for the development of strategies on social networks. Therefore, we recommend establishing an implementation plan and fomenting the generation of content by users, while providing frequent and detailed information on platforms.

The author is adjunct professor, EGADE Business School (Iván Ventre) and research professor, Department of Marketing and Business Intelligence, EGADE Business School (Diana Kolbe).