3 big media trends of the year: The rise of s-commerce, video fragmentation and social news

Social media is moving beyond text and image sharing to become the dominant platform for shopping, news and entertainment, according to a new global study.

The latest Global Media Landscape report, launched by GWI, reveals the current picture of how consumers spend their media time. 

A key finding from the flagship report is how s-commerce may be the new wave of the future as social media usages continue to develop and evolve to meet consumer demands.

Consumers around the world now use social channels for shopping, catching up on the news, finding and researching the products they buy, and watching TV. 

The report finds that YouTube has become the new media norm for young consumers, with 80% of Gen Z and 73% of Millennials globally using the platform for watching TV. 

Social media is the dominant channel for the news

58% of consumers in Q2 2022 globally consumed news via social media. 

Jason Mander, Chief Research Officer at GWI, commented: "Heavily influenced by the younger generations of Gen Z and Millenials, social media is continuing to gain momentum as consumers spend more time online. It's no surprise we're using social media platforms to not only get our daily news fix and watch TV, but for almost all phases of our online shopping journey too”.

TV viewing habits are more competitive than ever

When it comes to TV viewing, it’s no longer a simple case of linear vs online TV battling it out for consumers’ attention.

Global internet users still favour live TV (91%) and subscription services (73%) but video and social platforms such as YouTube are gaining traction here too, especially among younger generations. YouTube is the new media norm for young consumers globally, with 80% of Gen Z and 73% of Millennials using the platform for watching TV. 

Move over ecommerce, s-commerce has arrived

Since 2015, the number of people using social media for product searches has risen by 43%. There’s been a 7% increase in TikTok users who follow brand accounts since Q4 2020 and among users of the platform, 46% of Gen Z and Millennials admit to making an impulse purchase online at least every 2-3 weeks.

“Our report uncovers the trends set to influence the global media landscape in the year ahead, with social media dominating the scene. Over the last few years, TV consumption habits have seen a rise in online and streaming TV and now, social platforms are starting to gain traction here too," Mander adds.

The report represents more than 900,000 consumers and offers thousands of data points into consumer media usage patterns and behaviours of internet users around the world.


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