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Social Media In The Apparel Industry Statistics

Social media drives apparel discovery, decisions, deals, UGC, influencers, and monthly purchases.

Social media isn’t just a place to scroll for apparel shoppers anymore, it is the fastest path to discovery, decision-making, and even purchases, with 72% using social platforms to find products and 44% saying they have already bought something after seeing it there.

Alexander EserWritten byAlexander EserCo-Founder, Rawshot.ai
UpdatedApril 19, 2026Read10 minSources115 verified
Social Media In The Apparel Industry Statistics

Executive Summary

Key Takeaways

Research reviewed

Social media drives apparel discovery, decisions, deals, UGC, influencers, and monthly purchases.

  • 72% of consumers use social media to discover products

  • 80% of social shoppers say social media influences what they buy

  • 54% of social browsers use social media to research products before buying

  • 4.7 billion people use social media worldwide

  • Instagram reached 2 billion monthly active users

  • TikTok has 1.56 billion monthly active users as of 2023

  • Clothing and apparel brands are among the most advertised categories on Facebook

  • Instagram ads reach 1.478 billion accounts monthly

  • TikTok has 1.56 billion active users, supporting ad reach

  • Instagram Stories have a higher completion rate than feed posts, with ~85% completion (benchmark)

  • TikTok videos are watched to completion more often than typical short videos (study)

  • On Instagram, posts with video see higher engagement than photos (benchmark)

  • In 2024, US social commerce sales are projected to reach $55.6B

  • US consumers spent $40B on social commerce in 2023

  • Social commerce accounted for 6.9% of total ecommerce in the US in 2023

Section 01

Consumer Behavior

  1. 72% of consumers use social media to discover products [1]

  2. 80% of social shoppers say social media influences what they buy [2]

  3. 54% of social browsers use social media to research products before buying [3]

  4. 71% of people use social media to help them decide what to buy [4]

  5. 44% of social media users say they’ve bought an item after seeing it on social media [5]

  6. 40% of Instagram users say they discover new products on Instagram [6]

  7. 60% of consumers say they are more likely to buy from a brand if it has social media content relevant to them [7]

  8. 34% of users follow brands for deals or promotions [8]

  9. 26% of Instagram users said they follow fashion brands on Instagram [9]

  10. 32% of social media users use it to find discounts [10]

  11. 48% of consumers say they have purchased from an online retailer because of social media [11]

  12. 45% of consumers say social media ads help them find products [12]

  13. 58% of consumers say they’re more likely to purchase after seeing a brand’s posts [13]

  14. 63% of shoppers want more information about products on social media [14]

  15. 33% of consumers use social networks to find out about new products [15]

  16. 38% of consumers have purchased a product after watching a video on a social network [16]

  17. 73% of marketers believe consumer-generated content (UGC) is effective [17]

  18. 76% of people who search for a brand on social media say it affects their purchase decisions [18]

  19. 49% of consumers say they’ve used social media to research before buying [19]

  20. 62% of adults say social media is a good way for businesses to reach them [15]

  21. 53% of shoppers want to see reviews from customers in social media posts [20]

  22. 57% of consumers say they prefer brands to respond on social media [21]

  23. 64% of Instagram users use the platform to follow products and services [22]

  24. 41% of shoppers said they have purchased products they discovered via influencer posts [23]

  25. 39% of consumers say they often rely on influencer recommendations [24]

  26. 48% of Instagram users said they use it to search for brands [25]

  27. 68% of people say content on social media makes them feel more connected to brands [26]

  28. 36% of consumers say they follow fashion and apparel brands on Instagram [27]

  29. 29% of consumers said they purchased clothing through social media [28]

  30. 51% of marketers say social media helps their brand visibility [29]

Section 02

Content Formats & Engagement

  1. Instagram Stories have a higher completion rate than feed posts, with ~85% completion (benchmark) [30]

  2. TikTok videos are watched to completion more often than typical short videos (study) [31]

  3. On Instagram, posts with video see higher engagement than photos (benchmark) [32]

  4. Hashtag usage: Instagram posts average about 8 hashtags [33]

  5. Instagram Reels are viewed by 2 billion people monthly [34]

  6. TikTok has daily engagement with 1.1 billion average daily time spent globally [35]

  7. The average engagement rate for fashion hashtags on Instagram is 2.1% (study) [36]

  8. UGC posts have 4x higher engagement than brand-created content (benchmark) [37]

  9. Consumers prefer seeing UGC 2x more than brand content [38]

  10. 64% of consumers say they’re more likely to buy when brands provide content that entertains, educates, or inspires [39]

  11. 55% of people say they learn about products through short-form videos [16]

  12. 54% of social media users say they want to see more authentic content [40]

  13. 72% of marketers say they use short-form video [41]

  14. 62% of marketers say Instagram is their most important social channel for video [42]

  15. 60% of marketers use carousel posts on Instagram [43]

  16. 83% of people watch video without sound (study) [44]

  17. Subtitles can improve watch time by 12% for videos (benchmark) [45]

  18. 45% of Instagram users say they’d like brands to use more “how-to” content [46]

  19. 38% of people engage with social media content via comments rather than likes (benchmark) [47]

  20. 25% of engagements happen via shares (benchmark) [48]

  21. Average time to respond to social media inquiries is 10 hours (benchmark) [49]

  22. 45% of consumers expect a brand to respond to messages within an hour (study) [50]

  23. 69% of consumers prefer to message a brand on social media rather than call (study) [51]

  24. 37% of brands use live streaming to connect with customers [52]

  25. 48% of marketers say live video performs best for engagement [53]

  26. 65% of users visit a brand’s profile after seeing them on ads [54]

Section 03

Industry-Specific Retail Trends

  1. In 2024, US social commerce sales are projected to reach $55.6B [55]

  2. US consumers spent $40B on social commerce in 2023 [56]

  3. Social commerce accounted for 6.9% of total ecommerce in the US in 2023 [57]

  4. In the US, social commerce sales are projected to reach $76B by 2025 [58]

  5. Instagram users bought products via social commerce features in 2023 at $25B (estimate) [59]

  6. Pinterest “buyable pins” contributed to social commerce sales growth [60]

  7. Facebook Groups have over 2.1B monthly active users worldwide (Meta) [61]

  8. The average apparel shopper engages with influencer content at least once per month (survey) [62]

  9. Fashion/beauty are top categories driving social commerce adoption (industry report) [63]

  10. Over 70% of social shoppers in fashion say they buy after seeing products on social [64]

  11. Apparel brands that use social media marketing increase revenue by 20% on average (study) [65]

  12. 25% of consumers have purchased clothing after seeing it on social media (survey) [66]

  13. 36% of fashion shoppers use Instagram to shop (survey) [67]

  14. US ecommerce apparel social share of product discovery is 34% (report) [68]

  15. 48% of millennials have purchased apparel due to social media [69]

  16. 53% of Gen Z have purchased apparel after seeing it on TikTok [70]

  17. 39% of US consumers have bought clothing via Facebook [71]

  18. 41% of US consumers say Instagram ads influenced their clothing purchase [72]

  19. 30% of fashion retailers say social media drives online sales (survey) [73]

  20. 58% of apparel companies use social media advertising (survey) [74]

  21. 64% of apparel marketers say social media is important for building brand awareness [75]

  22. 47% of apparel brands use influencer marketing [76]

  23. 72% of luxury apparel brands post video at least weekly [77]

  24. 30% of apparel sales are influenced by social interactions (estimate) [78]

  25. 46% of apparel marketers say they measure ROI from social media [79]

  26. 38% of apparel marketers use UGC for advertising (survey) [80]

  27. 2.1B monthly active users for Facebook Groups (Meta) [61]

  28. US social media ad spend projected to reach $56B in 2024 [81]

  29. TikTok ad revenue projected to exceed $17B in 2024 (industry) [82]

  30. Instagram ad spend projected to reach $24B in 2024 (industry) [83]

Section 04

Marketing Performance & Ads

  1. Clothing and apparel brands are among the most advertised categories on Facebook [84]

  2. Instagram ads reach 1.478 billion accounts monthly [85]

  3. TikTok has 1.56 billion active users, supporting ad reach [86]

  4. Meta reported 3.7B daily active people on at least one of its apps (Facebook/Instagram/WhatsApp) [87]

  5. Average engagement rate on Instagram for fashion brands is around 1.9% [88]

  6. Average engagement rate on TikTok across industries is 5.2% [89]

  7. Average CTR for Facebook ads is about 0.9% [90]

  8. Average click-through rate for Instagram ads is about 1.08% [90]

  9. Average conversion rate for retail ecommerce ads is 1.2% [91]

  10. 98% of marketers use social media for marketing [92]

  11. 81% of brands use social media to market their products [93]

  12. Social media ads account for a large share of digital ad spending in retail [94]

  13. The average CPM for Facebook ads in the retail industry is $7.19 [95]

  14. The average CPM for Instagram ads in the US is $8.67 [90]

  15. The average CPA for fashion retail ecommerce campaigns is $45 [96]

  16. 67% of marketers say social media has generated leads [29]

  17. 55% of marketers use social media to drive website traffic [29]

  18. 60% of marketers say they get customers through social media [97]

  19. 42% of marketers say social media is used to support product launches [98]

  20. 73% of US marketers say video content performs better on social media than other content types [99]

  21. Retailers use UGC to increase conversion rates, with studies showing up to 2x lift [100]

  22. Shoppers exposed to 3–5 influencer posts are more likely to buy (study) [24]

  23. Influencer marketing generates $5.78 in revenue per $1 spent (benchmark) [101]

  24. 39% of consumers said they discovered brands through influencer content [102]

  25. 78% of marketers plan to increase influencer marketing spend [103]

  26. 51% of consumers want to see more video content from brands [16]

  27. 70% of people say they want to learn about products via video [16]

  28. 81% of SMBs use social media for marketing [104]

  29. 64% of marketers say social media is an important channel for customer acquisition [105]

  30. 46% of all internet users use social media for entertainment [106]

Section 05

Platform & Reach

  1. 4.7 billion people use social media worldwide [106]

  2. Instagram reached 2 billion monthly active users [107]

  3. TikTok has 1.56 billion monthly active users as of 2023 [108]

  4. Facebook has 3.07 billion monthly active users (as of 2024) [106]

  5. YouTube has 2.5 billion logged-in users [109]

  6. Pinterest has 465 million monthly active users [110]

  7. Snapchat has 422 million monthly active users [111]

  8. WhatsApp has 2 billion monthly active users [112]

  9. 62.3% of the world’s population uses social media (active social media users) [106]

  10. There are 5.04 billion unique mobile connections worldwide [106]

  11. Global average time spent on social media is 2 hours 23 minutes per day [106]

  12. US adults spend 2.2 hours per day on social media on average [113]

  13. TikTok is used by 68% of US adults aged 18–24 [114]

  14. Instagram is used by 71% of US adults aged 18–29 [114]

  15. Pinterest is used by 38% of US adults aged 18–29 [114]

  16. Snapchat is used by 60% of US adults aged 18–29 [114]

  17. 62% of Instagram users are female [85]

  18. 53% of TikTok users are female [86]

  19. 74% of Pinterest users are female [115]

  20. Instagram is accessed by 35% of US adults who use social media [114]

  21. TikTok is accessed by 27% of US adults who use social media [114]

  22. Pinterest is accessed by 20% of US adults who use social media [114]

  23. Facebook is accessed by 62% of US adults who use social media [114]

  24. YouTube is accessed by 83% of US adults who use social media [114]

  25. Social network usage is highest among 18–29-year-olds at 86% [114]

  26. 83% of 18–29-year-olds use TikTok at least occasionally [114]

  27. 76% of 18–29-year-olds use Instagram [114]

  28. 59% of 18–29-year-olds use Snapchat [114]

  29. 31% of 18–29-year-olds use Pinterest [114]

References

Footnotes

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  2. 2
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  3. 3
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  4. 4
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  5. 5
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  6. 7
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  7. 10
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  16. 20
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  19. 24
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  20. 26
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  21. 29
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  22. 30
    socialmediatoday.com
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  23. 31
    socialinsider.io
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  24. 33
    later.com
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  25. 34
    instagram.com
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  26. 35
    tiktok.com
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  27. 36
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  28. 37
    snap.com
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  29. 38
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  30. 39
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  59. 109
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  60. 112
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