Automated ad systems, boosted video ad spending, and platforms leaning into their unique qualities led to a bounce-back year in 2024 for social networks overall.

As social media strengthens its grip on consumers’ digital lives in 2025, political polarization, regulation, and a desire for deeper personalization will shake up the landscape.

TikTok is driving social commerce sales and buyer growth: The platform’s popularity and influence with Gen Zers contributed to its 2024 successes. We look at how that could change in 2025.

This year, most buyer and sales growth will be driven by TikTok Shop, which will convert over 40% of TikTok users into buyers. Social commerce and retail media will converge as Amazon’s ad partnerships with the social platforms start to pack a punch.

The average age of new mothers was 27.4 in 2022, meaning they are digitally native, per the CDC. They are more familiar with the internet and digital devices than previous generations. They’ve embraced these tools to help navigate motherhood.

Google and Meta landed slightly below expectations in Q3, allowing a collection of hungry competitors to inch ahead. But overall, the ad industry remains healthy. Sports events drove streaming and CTV to record gains, and retail media continues to be the sector’s fastest-growing ad channel.

New mothers are increasingly digitally native. But their digital habits are defined more by their children’s life stage than by their own generational cohort.

Pinterest gets an Amazon bump, but the holiday is gray: A lower- than- expected Q4 forecast and heavy spending sent its stock tumbling.

Gen Z leads in digital usage by most proportional measures. However, social network use cuts across categories, influencing video viewing and digital buying.

Millennials outpace Gen Z on eight of the 12 digital platforms EMARKETER tracks.

As the path to purchase becomes more fragmented, brands must be everywhere the customer is—and retail media partnerships are stepping up. “There really isn't [one] common flow, and so you really have to make sure you're present in any place the consumer is thinking about your brand's products,” Eric Tarnowski, senior vice president, connected commerce at Kenvue, said during Advertising Week New York. “Every conversion point is a brand-building opportunity.”

Pinterest launches AI-powered tools: Advertisers can now create engaging visuals and reduce costs, aligning with industry-wide shifts toward generative AI solutions.

YouTube is doubling down on social connectivity and AI tools to stay competitive with rivals like TikTok and Meta. The platform’s new suite of features introduced last week include Communities, a fan’s ability to boost creators’ videos, generative AI (genAI) video tools, and gifting. These innovations mimic what’s working on other social media platforms as YouTube seeks to remain social even as it builds out its connected TV business.

A third (33%) of US influencers believe that if TikTok is sold or banned in the US next year, Facebook Reels will become the next major player in short-form video, per August 2024 data by First Insight. Instagram Reels is close, at 32%.

Social shoppers find inspiration for their purchases from many different types of content, but none more so than creator, influencer, or celebrity influencer content.

Senate ramps up social media regulation for teens: Two landmark bills that require more protections for minors will move to the House.

Gen Z’s complicated path to purchase leans heavily on digital platforms and channels. But offline resources still play a key role.

In August, brands got physical, with Olipop entering a new stadium, Nordstrom inking a deal with Rihanna, and Walmart growing with nonendemic retail media opportunities. Others took a more digital approach, making shopping more seamless on social media sites and AI-powered search. Here are the moves that made our analysts name eight brands to our unofficial most interesting list in August. 

Instagram shoppers and millennials are top spenders. TikTok shoppers buy most frequently. Gen Z has mixed habits on Facebook and Pinterest.

This is the first installment of our quarterly “Ad Spending Benchmarks” series, which helps ad buyers and sellers calibrate their spending and revenue mix against the market.