What Is Owned Social Commerce? and how it differs from traditional social commerce

Social commerce is exploding. Global sales are expected to exceed $8 trillion by 2030.

But most brands are building that growth on platforms they don’t control.

Instagram.
TikTok.
YouTube.
Marketplaces.

They drive discovery but they also take your data, control your reach, and keep your customers locked inside their ecosystem.

That’s why leading brands are shifting toward owned social commerce! bringing the social experience back to their own website, where they control the relationship, the data, and the revenue.

Owned social commerce isn’t just another tactic. It’s the foundation for sustainable growth in a privacy-first, high-cost acquisition world.

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What Is Owned Social Commerce?

Owned social commerce refers to social-style shopping experiences that happen on channels you control, such as:

• Your website
• Your mobile app
• Your email and SMS ecosystem
• Your customer database (CRM)

Instead of selling inside social platforms, brands recreate the engagement elements customers already expect:

• Live shopping events
• Shoppable video feeds
• Social-style browsing
• Real-time interaction
• Community and user-generated content (UGC)

The difference comes down to ownership.

With owned social commerce, you control:

• The customer experience
• The conversion journey
• The data
• The margins

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The Media Ownership Framework

To understand owned social commerce, it helps to view it through the classic media model:

Paid Media

Ads, influencer partnerships, sponsored content

Earned Media

Organic shares, mentions, reviews, press

Owned Media

Your website, email list, CRM, app, and content

Owned social commerce sits at the intersection of owned media and social engagement  transforming your website from a static storefront into a social discovery environment.

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Why Owned Social Commerce Matters Now

1. First-Party Data Is the New Growth Engine

When transactions happen on third-party platforms, you lose visibility.

With owned social commerce, you capture:

• Viewer behavior and engagement
• Product interest signals
• Purchase history
• Customer preferences
• Contact data for retargeting

This enables smarter personalization, lifecycle marketing, and higher lifetime value all while staying compliant with modern privacy regulations.

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2. Reduced Platform Dependency

Algorithm changes, rising CPMs, and policy shifts can impact revenue overnight.

Owned channels give you:

• Stability
• Predictable performance
• Direct access to your audience
• Independence from platform risk

Think of social platforms as discovery channels, not your primary sales engine.

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3. Higher Conversion Rates and AOV

When social experiences live on your website:

• Customers stay inside your ecosystem
• There’s no friction between discovery and checkout
• Content answers objections in real time

Brands commonly see:

• Higher conversion rates (CVR)
• Increased average order value (AOV)
• Longer session duration

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4. Better Margins

Many social platforms and marketplaces charge 5–20%+ in transaction or referral fees.

Driving purchases through owned channels protects margin and directly improves profitability.

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The Core Components of Owned Social Commerce

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Live Shopping on Your Website

Live shopping creates urgency, interaction, and trust.

Common use cases include:

• Product launches
• Limited drops and flash sales
• Influencer or founder takeovers
• Live Q&A and education

Unlike platform-based live streams, customers can purchase instantly without leaving your site.

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Shoppable Video Feeds

Shoppable video brings a TikTok-style experience directly into:

• Your homepage
• Product detail pages
• Collection pages

Visitors browse and discover products the same way they do on social but inside your store.
Even better, the content keeps converting long after the live event ends.

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Content as a Conversion Engine

Owned social commerce turns content into a long-term revenue asset:

• Tutorials and how-tos
• Product demos
• Customer stories and UGC
• Live event replays
• Educational series

Instead of disappearing after posting, content compounds value over time.

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How to Implement an Owned Social Commerce Strategy

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Step 1: Audit Your Current Funnel

Ask critical questions:

• Where does discovery happen?
• Where does purchase happen?
• What data are you capturing today?
• Where are customers dropping off?

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Step 2: Create Reasons to Visit Your Website

Customers won’t leave social without a clear incentive:

• Exclusive product drops
• Early access to launches
• Better pricing or bundles
• Live shopping events
• Personalized experiences

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Step 3: Use Social as the Top of Funnel

The winning model looks like this:

Social → Website → Conversion → Data → Retargeting

Social drives attention.
Your website captures value.

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Step 4: Measure What Actually Matters

Key metrics for owned social commerce include:

• Conversion rate (CVR)
• Average order value (AOV)
• Engagement with video and live content
• First-party audience growth
• Customer lifetime value from owned channels

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The Future of Social Commerce

Three macro trends are accelerating the shift:

1. Privacy changes – Third-party tracking is disappearing
2. Rising acquisition costs – Paid social keeps getting more expensive
3. Video-first behavior – Consumers expect social-style discovery everywhere

The brands that win will be the ones that bring the social experience home instead of renting attention from platforms.

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Final Thoughts

Social platforms are powerful discovery engines.

But long-term growth comes from ownership:

• Your audience
• Your data
• Your customer experience
• Your margins

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Owned social commerce transforms your website from a static store into a dynamic, social-driven revenue engine.

And in 2026, that shift isn’t optional.

It’s the new infrastructure for growth.

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Take the Next Step

Ready to turn your website into a social commerce engine?

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Terrific helps brands launch live shopping, shoppable video feeds, and social-style experiences directly on their website while capturing first-party data and increasing conversion.