Social Media Drives Discovery But Not Purchases, ESW Report Finds

Quick Facts

71% of Gen Z use social media for product discovery, but only 6% prefer to buy through social platforms.
Fashion has a cart abandonment rate of 87.9%, the second highest of any category, with unexpected costs as the top reason.
Shipping costs block international purchases for 46% of consumers, followed by delivery times at 45% and unclear duties at 32%.

Consumer demand is forming on social media. But purchases are completing somewhere else. That is the central finding of ESW’s 2026 Signals report, which draws on more than 23,000 interviews across 18 markets conducted in the first quarter of this year.

The data shows 62% of consumers say social platforms influence their purchasing decisions at least occasionally. Yet only 6% prefer to complete purchases through social platforms. By contrast, 31% globally prefer brand or retailer websites. Among U.S. consumers specifically, that figure rises to 37%, and among Boomers it reaches 52%.

Discovery Does Not Equal Conversion

The gap is sharpest among younger shoppers. While 71% of Gen Z use social media for product discovery, trust in social checkout remains weak. Only 27% of Americans trust social commerce checkout experiences, according to the report.

Trust in influencer recommendations follows a similar divide. Forty-three percent of Gen Z shoppers say they trust influencer recommendations. That number falls to 11% among Boomers.

ESW CEO Eric Eichmann said the pattern is consistent. “Nearly half are comfortable using AI for price comparison and 45% discover products through social media, but confidence drops sharply when those experiences move closer to checkout and payment,” he said.

AI Shows Utility, Not Trust

Artificial intelligence is earning selective acceptance from U.S. shoppers. Forty-seven percent are comfortable using AI for price comparison and 44% for deal finding. But only 24% trust AI-powered payments, and just 10% would allow AI-led auto-replenishment.

Generational gaps persist here too. Thirty-four percent of Millennials and 29% of Gen Z are open to conversational AI shopping. That figure drops to 8% among Baby Boomers.

Cart Abandonment Hits Fashion Hard

Fashion carries one of the highest cart abandonment rates of any retail category, at 87.9%, according to a Baymard Institute study of more than 4,500 checkouts. The overall average across categories sits at 70.22%. Mobile abandonment reaches 85.65%.

Unexpected extra costs are the top driver of abandonment, cited by 48% of shoppers. Security concerns also factor in, with 25% of shoppers saying they worry about entering credit card details on sites they do not fully trust.

International Orders Face Their Own Friction

For brands pursuing cross-border sales, the barriers are specific and measurable. Shipping costs are the biggest obstacle, cited by 46% of consumers. Delivery times follow at 45%, and unclear customs or duties trail at 32%.

ESW’s transaction data shows 61% of international orders are paid by credit or debit card, with digital wallets at 15%, PayPal at 11%, and buy now, pay later at 6%. Local payment preferences vary sharply. PayPal accounts for 53% of orders in Germany and 35% in Italy, compared with 63% card usage in the U.S.

One in five U.S. consumers used BNPL services in the past year, rising to 31% among Millennials. Despite that usage, BNPL remains among the least trusted payment methods for international purchases.

Spending Varies by Region and Age

Globally, 48% of consumers report increased discretionary spending compared with the prior year. Regional splits are wide. In the Middle East, 67% report spending more. In Asia, 61% do. In North America, only 30% say the same.

Younger consumers are driving growth. Sixty percent of Gen Z and 55% of Millennials report increased discretionary spending. In the U.S., 39% of consumers say discretionary spending has decreased over the past year, versus 31% who say it has increased.

ESW’s report frames the opportunity directly. “Consumers are discovering in more places, shopping internationally more readily and responding to new digital experiences faster than many brands can adapt.” For fashion operators, the data points to a single pressure point: checkout trust determines whether discovery converts to revenue.