How Social Commerce Is Shaping the Shopping Habits of Every Generation — From Gen Z to Baby Boomers

Shopping on social media used to mean a $12 lip gloss you'd spotted in a get ready with me video. These days, it can mean buying a Dyson or a laptop from Best Buy.

What started as a Gen Z experiment is turning into a proper retail channel, with household-name retailers building real storefronts inside the apps.

There's a catch, though. According to Salsify's “2026 Consumer Research” report, 52% of shoppers discover new products and brands on social media, but only 22% actually buy there.

So everyone's looking, but not everyone's checking out, and who does what depends a lot on when they were born.

Here's how each generation shops on social media at every stage of the buying journey, and what your brand can do about it.

Big Retail Moves In: TikTok Shop Is No Longer Just Top of Funnel

Part of the reason so few people buy on social media is that, until recently, brands didn't really ask them to. Put another way, social media was where you got noticed and maybe went viral.

You'd post the video, hope it took off, and send people somewhere else to buy. That's changing, and two launches this fall show just how quickly that change is happening.

Sephora Gives TikTok First Dibs

In September, Sephora began piloting the "Sephora Drop Shop" on TikTok Shop in the U.S. Each month, it releases a curated drop of products from its partner brands, built up with teasers and creator content, then unveiled in a TikTok Live.

The interesting part here is the exclusivity. Products in each drop launch on Sephora's TikTok Shop first, with select items reaching Sephora.com and stores later on. A prestige retailer is giving a social app the first look, ahead of its own website.

It's not a wild bet, either. TikTok Shop is already the fourth-largest health and beauty ecommerce retailer in the U.S., according to EMARKETER.

Best Buy Brings the Whole Store

Best Buy is going even bigger. In late October, it opened a TikTok Shop storefront with nearly 10,000 products from brands like Dyson, Bose, Microsoft, and Oura. Shoppers can buy without leaving the app, Best Buy handles the fulfillment, and eligible returns can go back to a Best Buy store.

"Social media isn't just influencing what people buy anymore," says Jonathan Greer, vice president of ecommerce at Best Buy, in a statement shared with Retail Dive.

Both are fully working shops, run by retailers people already know. That’s important, because for anyone who's never bought through a feed, a familiar name selling on TikTok is a good reason to give it a try.

Social Commerce: The 3 Stages of the Buying Journey

Regardless of generation, every shopper moves through the same three stages of the buying process: awareness, consideration, and purchase. They just don't do it in the same places.

1. The Awareness Stage

Social media is the third-biggest discovery channel overall, behind physical stores (60%) and online marketplaces (57%). Split it by age, though, and it paints an interesting picture.

Here's the top discovery channel for each generation, according to Salsify research:

• Gen Z: social media (73%)
• Millennials: social media (67%)
• Gen X: physical retail stores (61%)
• Baby boomers: online marketplaces (60%)

Younger shoppers find you in the feed, whereas older shoppers are more likely to find you on a shelf or on Amazon.

That's good news for Best Buy. Gen X already shops in its stores, so finding it on TikTok is like spotting a familiar face.

2. The Consideration Stage

Once shoppers know you exist, they do their homework. Forty-two percent research products on social media, and most check two or three channels before they buy anything, according to Salsify research.

Gen Z (63%) and millennials (55%) do most of that research on social, while Gen X (55%) and boomers (58%) head to marketplaces instead.

What wins them over is different, too. Durability tops the list for every age group, but look at what comes next.

Here's the second-biggest sign of quality for each generation, according to Salsify research:

• Gen Z: positive ratings and reviews (43%)
• Millennials: reviews (42%) and transparent ingredient or material lists (42%)
• Gen X: brand reputation and history (49%)
• Baby boomers: brand reputation and history (56%)

Put simply, younger shoppers trust other shoppers, but older shoppers trust the name on the box.

Image Source: Sephora

3. The Purchase Decision Stage

Here's the percentage of each generation that buys through social media shops, according to Salsify research:

• 33% of Gen Z
• 33% of millennials
• 19% of Gen X
• 4% of baby boomers

Overall, social shopping is down 12% from last year, though it's still up on 2024.

The old triggers are losing their pull as well. Purchases driven by influencer recommendations are down 16%, viral product purchases are down 17%, and live-stream purchases are down 12%.

Shoppers are getting pickier about being sold to. Only 10% admit to buying something they didn't need because the algorithm wore them down.

So what does it mean to close the sale? For boomers, it's the basics: 76% say pricing and availability matter most on a product page, compared with 49% of Gen Z. For Gen Z, it's the brand: 81% have paid more for a brand they trust, versus 48% of boomers.

How Frictionless Checkout Bridges the Trust Gap for Older Shoppers

Look at those numbers again, and older shoppers' hesitation makes a bit more sense. It’s not that they don’t want to or can’t buy from social media; it’s more that they want to know who they’re buying from.

Boomers want to see the price and whether it's in stock. They want a brand with some history behind it, and they want to stay in control: 48% say they wouldn't use an AI shopping agent because they like being in charge of their own shopping.

A familiar retailer's storefront inside the app ticks all three of those boxes. They recognize the name of the shop, the price and availability are right there, and they can tap the "buy" button themselves (no AI involved).

If it goes wrong, they can take it back to a store they've probably been into a few times over the years.

That last part is crucial. About a third of shoppers (32%) see free shipping or returns as a sign of a quality product, and 67% already research online before buying in-store. When shoppers know they can return a TikTok purchase to a real store, buying on social media feels a lot less risky.

3 Ways To Optimize Product Data and Content for Every Generation

Big retailers can lend your products their credibility, but your product content still has to do the convincing.

Here's where to focus.

1. Match the Format to the Generation

Product images and videos are the most important product page element overall (61%), but what you show should change with who's watching.

Younger shoppers are pulled in by richer content: 37% of millennials and 35% of Gen Z say better product content is a reason they shop online, compared with 14% of boomers.

So give Gen Z and millennials short videos, creator demos, and reviews. Give Gen X and boomers a clear price, stock status, and specs they don't have to hunt for.

2. Keep Your Story Straight From Feed to Product Page

A shopper might see your product in a video on Monday and land on the listing on Thursday. If the name, price, or claims don't match, they might notice and get put off.

Thirty-eight percent of shoppers have abandoned a purchase over inconsistent product information, rising to 45% of Gen Z. And 45% have returned something in the past year because the product content was wrong.

3. Build Product Data That Works for Feeds and AI

Social isn't the only new shelf on the block. Twenty-two percent of shoppers bought something in the past year because an AI tool recommended it, which is up 5% from 2025.

The good news is you don't need a strategy for social shopping and another, separate one to get yourself in AI recommendations. The complete, structured product data that makes a strong TikTok Shop listing is the same data that helps you get recommended by AI agents.

And as agentic commerce develops, those agents may end up doing the checking out, too, which is worth keeping in mind.

Social Is a Storefront Now, for Everyone

Social commerce isn't only for Gen Z anymore, but it isn't the same experience for everyone either.

Salsify's consumer research has identified that every generation discovers, researches, and buys slightly differently:

• Younger shoppers discover, research, and increasingly buy in the feed.
• Older shoppers are watching from a little further back, waiting for a name they trust and a checkout that feels safe to them. With Sephora and Best Buy moving in, they're getting both experiences.

The brands that do well from here will be the ones whose product content is accurate, consistent, and ready wherever a shopper of any age happens to find it.