Ecommerce growth channel showdown: TikTok vs Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest

May 6, 2025

Peter Sheldon

In 2025, DTC growth hackers have a lot of platforms to juggle. But which ones are worth investing in for YOUR brand?

From our own data sample of 2000 leading ecommerce sites, 91% use at least one social platform as a marketing channel:

Instagram: 88%

Facebook: 82%

TikTok: 40%

Pinterest: 40%

While they’re all certainly still viable marketing platforms for ecommerce brands, they’re not created equal in terms of engagement, conversion and ROI. Let’s dig into the nitty gritty of each network.

TikTok: Viral reach, mixed conversion

TikTok continues to reshape how people discover and buy products. It’s undoubtedly the dominant player in the space, expected to drive the largest share of new social commerce shoppers this year.

Strengths:

High volume of impulse purchases
Viral product exposure via algorithm
Seamless in-app checkout

Challenges:

Users are often in “entertainment mode” rather than “shopping mode”
Conversion rates vary (0.5–1.5%), especially for non-trending items
In-app sales limit brand control and post-purchase engagement

Target Audience:

Gen Z and younger Millennials
Mobile-native users in entertainment-first mode
Trend-sensitive shoppers and impulse buyers

Best For:

Fast-moving, low-cost products
Beauty, fashion, novelty, and viral gadgets
Brands seeking viral awareness and rapid reach

If you're launching a trend-friendly, low-friction product — especially for a younger audience — TikTok can drive explosive short-term results. But sustaining that momentum and nurturing longer-term customer value may require additional channels.

Instagram: Storytelling power with shopping friction

Instagram remains a top-tier platform for product discovery and visual branding, generating over $32 billion in U.S. ad revenue in 2025. While it still supports shopping features like product tags and in-app checkout, Meta has de-emphasized the Shop tab since 2023, shifting focus to reels and entertainment-driven content.

Strengths:

Strong influencer ecosystem
Visual storytelling that aligns with lifestyle brands
Large, diverse user base

Challenges:

Shoppers must jump through more hoops to convert
Users often browsing, not actively shopping
ROI varies by category and content execution

Target Audience:

Millennials and Gen Z
Followers of influencers and visual tastemakers
Users browsing for lifestyle inspiration and trends

Best For:

Fashion, beauty, wellness, and design-forward products
Brand storytelling through high-quality visuals
Merchants leveraging influencer marketing and aspirational branding

Instagram is best used as a mid-funnel channel: build interest, nurture brand affinity, and then convert either on-site or via retargeting.

Facebook: High reach, lower intent

Once the juggernaut of digital advertising, Facebook's role in ecommerce has shifted. While its ad platform remains powerful — especially for retargeting and audience segmentation — its core feed behavior is less commerce-oriented than its peers.

Strengths:

Massive reach across demographics
Effective for retargeting and lookalike modeling
Integration with Facebook Shops and Instagram

Challenges:

Declining engagement among younger audiences
Commerce features less emphasized by users
Feed-based shopping has lower intent signals

Target Audience:

Adults 35+, skewing older than other platforms
Value-conscious shoppers and community-oriented users
Audiences engaging with local groups or family-oriented content

Best For:

Household items, fitness gear, family and parenting products
Retargeting campaigns and loyalty re-engagement
Broad-market DTC brands or regional ecommerce businesses

Facebook is still a reliable top-of-funnel tool, but its performance as a standalone social commerce driver is increasingly limited by intent mismatch.

Pinterest: High intent, longer consideration window

Unlike the entertainment-first nature of other platforms, Pinterest is structured around search, planning, and discovery — behaviors that naturally align with shopping. In 2025, Pinterest continues to generate high ROAS for many brands, especially in lifestyle categories.

Strengths:

Users often arrive with shopping or project intent
Traffic has a longer “shelf life” due to Pins being saved and resurfaced
Seamless outbound traffic to merchants’ own stores

Challenges:

Lower overall traffic volume compared to TikTok or Instagram
Less effective for fast fashion, viral trends, or urgency-driven sales
Requires alignment with visual-first, idea-centric categories

Target Audience:

Women 25–54 (majority demographic)
Users in “planning” mode — weddings, home projects, gift ideas
Intent-driven shoppers doing product research and saving ideas

Best For:

Home décor, DIY, fashion, wellness, and food
Products that benefit from strong visuals and inspiration
Merchants focused on driving traffic to their own store and capturing long-term value

Pinterest shines in categories like home decor, wellness, beauty, fashion, and food — areas where people research before buying. It's ideal for mid-to-lower funnel traffic that needs nurturing over time.

Platform fit: what really matters?

Here’s a simplified decision framework to help determine which platform fits your goals:

Drive viral product awareness: TikTok, Instagram

Nurture brand affinity: Instagram, Facebook

Convert ready-to-buy traffic: Pinterest, TikTok (via TikTok Shop)

Own customer data & post-sale journey: Pinterest, Instagram (with checkout off)

Reach older or broader audiences: Facebook, Pinterest

Retarget site visitors or ad clicks: Facebook, Instagram

No one platform wins across the board. Omni-channel strategies outperform single-channel bets, especially as algorithms, user behaviors, and commerce features continue to shift.

Final Thoughts

The best social commerce strategy in 2025 isn’t about picking a winner — it’s about understanding:

Your product’s natural fit (trend-driven vs. considered purchase)
Your customer’s mindset (entertainment vs. intentional discovery)
Your business goals (brand equity vs. direct conversions vs. LTV)

Use TikTok to go viral. Use Instagram to build desire. Use Facebook to re-engage. Use Pinterest to convert high-intent shoppers.

And use ShopVision to track your competitors’ organic and paid creatives across Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and Pinterest (plus email, SMS and the Web)! Get inspired and ask our Super Agent AI what opportunities you’re missing in your social marketing strategies.

We’d love to show you a personalized demo pre-loaded with your top competing brands.

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