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

Social media usage is increasing for all generations, but most quickly for Gen Z. This year, US Gen Z social media usage will grow 7.7% versus 1.8% for the general population’s, according to our May 2024 forecast.

Snap introduces new AR glasses and creator tools: Updates include a unified entertainment feed and simplified app experience, positioning Snap to compete with TikTok and Meta.

Shopping has spread across the entire social ecosystem. Our survey of social shoppers found that the kinds of goods and services people buy differ meaningfully across the platforms.

Reddit, unlike most social media platforms, is growing: Facebook, Instagram, and even TikTok are seeing engagement drops, per Comscore data.

They are YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Snapchat. There are also more Gen X social network users than linear TV viewers, and YouTube is closing in.

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.

Whether social media can replace linear TV is debatable. But there’s no question that it’s a strong contender for linear TV’s audience and ad dollars.

This report compares our 2024 US ad spending and time spent with media forecasts. It identifies incongruities between how marketers are spending ad dollars and where consumers are spending their time.

Mexico is Latin America's second-largest ad market by total spending but has the highest digital ad penetration in the region. Here, we explore the country's consumer behaviors and opportunities for advertisers.​

Our forecast for time spent with media has held relatively steady throughout 2024, but several important milestones are on the horizon.

Social commerce is the fastest-growing US retail channel, and retailers will need to offer a seamless payment experience to maximize the opportunity. Understanding payment preferences will be key to ensuring conversion at checkout.

Total media time is on a steady slide in the UK. By 2026, it will drop to below 10 hours per day, the lowest level in a decade. Digital media—particularly digital and social video—is picking up some of the slack, but it won’t halt the decline.

Here are five charts that size social network usage on a worldwide level by platform and by country and region.

Our user forecasts for Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat, X, and Pinterest in Canada highlight an expanding platform mix increasingly divided by age demographics.

The smartphone remains Gen Z’s favorite device, as it’s the quickest way to access digital video and social media. But adoption of CTV and VR continues to rise.

Social network user growth is stalling in Western Europe. Marketers should look toward changing platform dynamics, particularly among generational cohorts, to best manage their social media strategies.

Younger generations have embraced TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube as search engines. Although TikTok’s future in the US is uncertain, the social search opportunity remains robust.

Influencer marketing is becoming a need-to-have for payment brands’ marketing teams. While not without risks, it’s key to building awareness and creating relationships with young consumers.

The creator economy is maturing. While brand deals are still the No. 1 revenue stream for creators, more are going directly to consumers to monetize.