Advertisements, TV shows, magazines… where do you look for inspiration when it comes to new trends or future purchases?

While these sources have been around for decades, social media now has to be added to the mix as a space where brands, retailers and other influencers share their picks and products, particularly in the sectors of fashion, beauty and gastronomy.

And it would seem these digital channels are particularly effective in winning over potential buyers, to the point of transforming their consumption habits and purchasing behaviour. At least, this is what Swedish fintech company Klarna’s recent “Shopping Pulse” report, carried out among close to 20,000 people in 18 countries including France, the United States, Norway, and the United Kingdom, suggests.

Nearly six out of 10 US consumers (58%) say they have already purchased a product after seeing it on social networks in the month preceding the survey. This figure rises to 70% among Generation-Z US consumers and 96% among millennials.

In just a few years, social platforms have become powerful influencers for the younger generations – at least those of purchasing age. Facebook comes out on top, with 62%, as the preferred social platform for shopping in the US.

The social network is a bit ahead of YouTube (55%), Instagram (42%), TikTok (40%), Snapchat (29%) and Pinterest (23%).

This ranking is based on the responses of all the US respondents, across all generations, but changes somewhat according to each generation. Those of Gen Z, for example, turn to Instagram to make purchases (49%), followed closely by TikTok (48%), YouTube (40%), Facebook (43%), Snapchat (35%), and Pinterest (15%).

While US consumers are particularly keen to use social networks to find inspiration, and even to purchase products online, the 58% of those who have already done so are followed by Australians (54%), Britons (44%), Greeks (43%), Spaniards (42%), and Portuguese and New Zealanders (41%).

The phenomenon is, as such, not confined to North America, even if some nations – for the time being – are more reluctant to transform a purchase thanks to social platforms. This is particularly true of the Czech Republic (28%) and Finland (29%).