Emplifi, a leading customer engagement platform, released “How UGC Drives Revenue and Boosts Engagement in Social Commerce” report, sharing findings from a 12-month study of user-generated content (UGC) published across Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X, and Twitch by B2C brands spread across 49 different industries. According to the report, Emplifi’s data shows that UGC is a critical component of a brand’s social media strategy, delivering a 63% year-over-year growth in revenue and contributing more than $8 billion annually to social commerce revenue.

“When integrated into a brand’s social media marketing and social commerce strategies, user-generated content has proven to boost a brand’s results. Providing the authenticity and relatability that consumers crave has an immediate impact on everything from time spent on site to online conversions and revenue”

In addition to having a direct impact on conversion rates and revenue, Emplifi found that the brands leveraging UGC on their website generated three times more repeat site visits compared to sites that failed to use such content. Also, consumers spent more than double the amount of time on a web page that featured UGC, a clear indication that online shoppers respond to authentic, peer-generated content.

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EMARKETER forecasts social commerce will continue to skyrocket over the next three years, driven by an increase in spend by online shoppers—a trend that’s expected to nearly double by 2027. “This is expected to drive most of the sales growth, rather than the acquisition of new buyers,” reports EMARKETER. With more online shoppers relying on authentic content from actual consumers, UGC will continue to be a critical component of social media marketing and social commerce strategies for B2C brands.

“We want to know that people are coming back and trying new things. We want to know who pointed them in the right direction,” said Jeremy Barrett Lipkin, CEO & Founder at NAVY Hair Care. “We want to know anything and everything that we possibly can as far as data that you don’t just pull from analytics but data that you have to pull from actual cuts, like a customer leaving a comment – which we can only get with Emplifi. That’s a very high value for us.”

Lipkin’s team was able to increase the company’s repeat-visit rate by 265% and boost engagement rate on shoppable Instagram by 73% after implementing Emplifi’s platform.

“We really strive to have our community make content for us. The best endorsement is endorsement from your clients, but also your neighbor…It’s like having an Avon lady, but instead of having a woman come to your house, [content] is just posted on Instagram.”

When analyzing how UGC impacts various verticals, Emplifi discovered fashion and apparel brands lead all industries in UGC-driven revenue, with customer content driving 50% of total online revenue. But, according to Emplifi’s data, fashion brands are often the least likely to use UGC, averaging only three posts per month. In fact, the fashion brand sector ranks eighth among the industries leveraging UGC in their social commerce efforts.

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For the travel sector, UGC content helps drive nearly 10% of online revenue, 5% for home and living brands, 4% for retail brands, and 3% for the sporting goods vertical.

One of the more interesting findings from Emplifi’s report is how UGC regularly outperforms traditional advertising for engagement. Emplifi’s data shows that, on average, UGC generates nearly four times higher engagement rates compared to Instagram ads. The travel industry sees the highest engagement rate from UGC at 17%, followed by accommodation (16%) and fashion (12%). In comparison, Instagram ads typically see engagement rates below 4%, with some exceptions like retail food (4%) and home and living (6%).

“When integrated into a brand’s social media marketing and social commerce strategies, user-generated content has proven to boost a brand’s results. Providing the authenticity and relatability that consumers crave has an immediate impact on everything from time spent on site to online conversions and revenue,” said Susan Ganeshan, CMO of Emplifi. “Companies that overlook UGC and fail to incorporate it into their social strategy risk leaving millions of dollars on the table. Our clients have seen substantial growth by leveraging UGC. With the holiday season fast approaching, now is the time to double down on UGC across your social and e-commerce strategies, especially if you want to gain a competitive edge through the end of the year.”