Social Commerce's Trust Gap: Why Discovery Doesn't Convert to Purchase

Social media has become the single best channel worldwide for consumers to discover new products — but it's failing to earn their trust at the point of purchase. That's the central finding of a June 2026 report from payments platform ESW, based on online interviews with 23,000 consumers across 18 markets. A sharp gap between discovery and social commerce conversion is fragmenting the customer journey across multiple platforms.

Social wins discovery, decisively

On discovery, social media's dominance is unmistakable. 62% of consumers say they're influenced by social platforms, and roughly 50% say they discover new products there. Among Gen Z specifically, 75% use social media for product discovery — ahead of search engines (38%) and physical stores (36%).

But it loses at checkout

The picture flips entirely once the conversation turns to actual purchase. Just 6% of consumers prefer to buy directly on social platforms. Nearly a third prefer buying on brand or retailer websites instead — in the US, 37% prefer brand websites, rising to 52% among Baby Boomers.

Trust is the social commerce conversion bottleneck

Trust is the crux of the problem. Only 25% of US consumers say they trust the checkout experience on social commerce. The typical path is fragmented: discover a product on Instagram, verify quality elsewhere, then complete the purchase on a platform they actually trust. ESW CEO Eric Eichmann put it bluntly: "US consumers are happy to embrace new ways of discovering products and finding value, but trust drops sharply the closer the experience gets to payment and checkout." Notably, about half of consumers said they're comfortable using AI to compare prices — signaling openness to new tools elsewhere in the buying journey.

What this means for marketers

The message here is clear: treating social media as a "conversion channel" runs against how consumers actually behave. Use social as a powerful discovery and awareness engine, but design an omnichannel path that funnels real conversion toward owned sites or trusted retail channels where the brand controls trust. Retargeting and landing-page optimization that carry social-driven interest over to owned assets matter more than ever.

At the same time, reducing drop-off within social commerce itself means confronting the trust bottleneck head-on: transparent pricing, familiar and secure payment methods, and clear return/security policies all directly affect conversion. Generational differences matter too — Gen Z leans on social discovery while Baby Boomers strongly prefer website purchases — so channel mix should account for that, alongside consumers' growing comfort using AI for price comparison.

If you need help designing an omnichannel journey that converts social discovery into trusted purchases, Best Partner's services can help, or get in touch to talk through your funnel.