Social commerce — transactions that consumers start and complete entirely within a social media platform — is historically fraught with problems, like out-of-sync inventory feeds and unclear return policies. However, when TikTok Shop launched in 2023, many of those issues started to resolve. Yet despite an improved user experience and a push from online creators to buy products on social media, social commerce hasn’t hit critical mass. This report lays out the barriers and opportunities for social commerce and how B2C marketing executives can leverage social media and creators to influence purchase decisions.