Social Commerce Intelligence Report · 2026

Trust, Discovery & Purchase Behavior
Across Platforms

An independent read on how 1,000 active US social shoppers actually behave on TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, and Pinterest. Three themes, nine signals — fielded April 2026 with no platform funding and no outside agenda.

View pricing & buy → Want a preview? Get the free executive summary →

What the data reveals

Three themes

1,000 active social shoppers, asked about how they discover, decide, and buy. Three findings shape almost everything else.

Theme 01

The Speed-Trust Paradox

How are shoppers buying, and why — despite a lack of trust in social commerce?

73% of buyers weren't shopping for the product they ended up buying. Most decisions happen within hours of first contact, not days. Discovery and purchase have collapsed into the same moment.

Theme 02

Who's Actually Spending

Okay, so who is buying?

On every commercial metric we measured — frequency, spend, repurchase intent — an older cohort leads. The 35–44 segment, parents, and higher-income households are where social commerce is booming.

Theme 03

The Trust Imperative

So, what are the limitations, and what comes next?

Asked unprompted what would most improve their experience, shoppers named trust, authenticity, and security roughly three times more than lower prices. The platforms investing the most are solving for a different problem.

A preview of the data

Sample findings.

An example of the types of questions answered in the report.

Theme 01 · The Impulse Window

How fast does discovery turn into purchase?

Inside the report →

Theme 02 · The Power Cohort

Where does the spend actually concentrate?

Inside the report →

Theme 03 · The Trust Imperative

What would unlock more spending?

Inside the report →

What's in the box

A real, downloadable product.

Delivered immediately by email after checkout. Three deliverables, available by tier.

Full Report (PDF)

Every chart, every signal.

The complete 2026 report — three themes, nine signals, strategic implications, reference data, and methodology.

Included in: Individual · Team · Enterprise

data-tables.xlsx XLSX

Q1a

428

42.8

1.6

Q1b

312

31.2

1.5

Q1c

260

26.0

1.4

Q1_platform Q2_freq Q3_intent +31

Team Data Tables (XLSX)

34 sheets. Slice it yourself.

Every question, raw and stratified frequencies, and demographic cross-tabs by age, gender, income, and education.

Included in: Team · Enterprise

cross-tabs.xlsx XLSX

Q4 × age × income

<$50K

$50–150K

$150K+

18–24

28%

41%

53%

25–34

36%

47%

61%

35–44

44%

58%

71%

Cross-Tabs Supplement (XLSX)

The hard cuts.

Education, region, and gender × age cross-tabs — plus one custom cross-tab on request, delivered within 5 business days.

Included in: Enterprise

Licensing

Choose your license.

Every license includes the full report PDF. Team and enterprise add data tables, extended cross-tabs, and broader use rights.

Individual

$995

Single named user

Purchase →

Team

$1,995

Up to 5 named users
within one organization

Purchase →

Enterprise

$3,995

Unlimited internal use
within one organization

Purchase →

Compare features

Individual

Team

Enterprise

Full report PDF

✓

Team Data Tables (XLSX, 34 sheets)

—

✓

Cross-Tabs Supplement (education, region, gender × age)

—

✓

One custom cross-tab on request

—

✓

Questions about licensing or tier deliverables: hello@scroll-signal.com

Inside the report

Table of contents.

Three themes · Nine signals · Strategic implications · Reference data & methodology

See every chart in the full report →

Theme 01

The Speed-Trust Paradox

How shoppers buy on platforms they don't fully trust

The Impulse WindowHours, not days, from discovery to purchase
The Trust-Share GapWhere reach and confidence diverge
The In-App AdvantageWhat completes versus what leaks

Theme 02

Who's Actually Spending

The cohorts driving social commerce — not who you think

The 35–44 Power CohortFrequency, spend, and intent leader
The Parent PremiumHouseholds with kids outpace on every metric
The Platform Income MapIncluding the $150K+ buyer profile

Theme 03

The Trust Imperative

What limits spend today, and what unlocks more

What Trust Actually MeansUnprompted theme rankings
The Live Commerce GapIndustry hype versus shopper demand
The Satisfaction LoopWhat drives repeat purchase intent

Strategic Implications

Three themes. Three shifts.

Operational shifts grounded in the findings

The big-picture playbookThe three changes the data points to
Speed-Trust Paradox shiftsThree operational changes for the impulse window
Who's Actually Spending shiftsMatching investment to where the spend actually is
Trust Imperative shiftsThree operational changes for closing the trust gap

Reference Data & Methodology

The supporting cuts.

Cross-cuts and stats appendix

The trust stackWhich trust signals matter most
Gender cutWhere men and women differ on spend and platform preference
Category deep-divesTen product categories, platform-by-platform
Reading the margins95% confidence intervals by subgroup
Full methodologySample composition and the ten categories tracked

Methodology

How we did the research.

Stratified consumer survey of active US social shoppers, fielded April 2026 through an independent consumer research panel. No platform funding, no brand sponsorship, no outside agenda.

Full methodology →

Sample

n=1,000 qualified US shoppers

Eligibility

≥1 social media purchase, past 6 months

Panel

Independent consumer research panel

Platforms

TikTok, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest

Weighting

Stratified to US Census (age, gender, region)

Fielded

April 2026

Funding

No platform or brand sponsorship

Before you buy

Common questions.

How quickly will I receive it?

Immediately. After checkout, the download link is emailed within seconds. Your link remains active for one year. If anything goes wrong with delivery, write to hello@scroll-signal.com and we'll resolve it within one business day.

What format is it delivered in?

PDF for the report itself. Team and Enterprise also include an Excel data tables file. Enterprise adds a cross-tabs supplement (also Excel) and the option to request one custom cross-tab within 5 business days of purchase.

Can I share it with my team?

Depends on your license. Individual is for one named user. Team covers up to 5 named users in one organization. Enterprise covers unlimited internal use within one organization.

What's your refund policy?

Because the report is a digital file delivered immediately, we don't offer refunds once the file has been downloaded. If there's a technical delivery problem, contact us within 7 days and we'll fix it or refund. Full policy in our Terms of Service.

More questions? See the full FAQ or email hello@scroll-signal.com.

What you'll do with it

Built for the call you're about to make.

Three concrete ways teams use ScrollSignal data the week they receive it.

For brand marketers

Build the platform allocation case.

Walk into the budget conversation with cross-platform benchmarks for which platforms convert your category, who actually spends, and where wallet share is moving — instead of platform-supplied numbers that always favor whoever produced them.

For agencies & consultancies

Win the pitch with defensible benchmarks.

Bring an independent read into your strategy decks and client recommendations — including the cross-platform comparisons no single platform's research can give you, and the demographic cuts that change targeting decisions.

For investors & analysts

Pressure-test your thesis with consumer data.

Model social commerce platforms, brands, and the picks-and-shovels around them with primary consumer data — by income tier, by cohort, and by category, not platform self-reporting.

Why ScrollSignal

Independent by design.

Original consumer survey

1,000 active US social media shoppers — not secondary research, not platform estimates.

No platform funding

Findings are not shaped by anyone with a stake in the outcome.

Cross-platform read

Benchmarking no single platform's own research can provide — TikTok vs Instagram vs Facebook vs YouTube vs Pinterest, on the same scale.

Decision-grade rigor

Stratified weighting to US Census, full methodology disclosed, confidence intervals reported by subgroup.

Trust, Discovery & Purchase Behavior
Across Platforms

Three themes

The Speed-Trust Paradox

Who's Actually Spending

The Trust Imperative

Sample findings.

A real, downloadable product.

Every chart, every signal.

34 sheets. Slice it yourself.

The hard cuts.

Choose your license.

Table of contents.

How we did the research.

Common questions.

How quickly will I receive it?

What format is it delivered in?

Can I share it with my team?

What's your refund policy?

Built for the call you're about to make.

Build the platform allocation case.

Win the pitch with defensible benchmarks.

Pressure-test your thesis with consumer data.

Independent by design.

Original consumer survey

No platform funding

Cross-platform read

Decision-grade rigor

Get your license. Start using the data today.

Get the research first.

Trust, Discovery & Purchase BehaviorAcross Platforms

Three themes

The Speed-Trust Paradox

Who's Actually Spending

The Trust Imperative

Sample findings.

A real, downloadable product.

Every chart, every signal.

34 sheets. Slice it yourself.

The hard cuts.

Choose your license.

Table of contents.

How we did the research.

Common questions.

How quickly will I receive it?

What format is it delivered in?

Can I share it with my team?

What's your refund policy?

Built for the call you're about to make.

Build the platform allocation case.

Win the pitch with defensible benchmarks.

Pressure-test your thesis with consumer data.

Independent by design.

Original consumer survey

No platform funding

Cross-platform read

Decision-grade rigor

Get your license. Start using the data today.

Get the research first.

Trust, Discovery & Purchase Behavior
Across Platforms