Technological advances have significantly changed the way people buy and sell products and services. The growth of e-commerce and media has created new opportunities for businesses and consumers (Nacar and Ozdemir 2022). Social networks are increasingly penetrated and can be a channel for interaction with consumers that contributes to persuasion, conversion and customer loyalty, constituting a growing distribution channel (Pires et al. 2022).

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has also transformed the business-to-consumer relationship, as well as consumer behavior (Basaure et al. 2021; Pantano et al. 2020; Ribeiro et al. 2019), and had implications for academic publications in various areas of knowledge, which can be seen in various bibliometric studies carried out, such as Gatto et al. (2023). This shows the impact that COVID-19 has had on areas of society, such as the economy, religion, politics, technology and medicine. Marketing has not escaped this either and COVID-19 cannot help but be seen as one of the driving forces behind e-commerce in general and social shopping in particular.

Consumer behavior is influenced by internal factors, intrinsic to the individual, and external factors, such as the perceived quality of services when buying online (Panarello and Gatto 2022). By introducing social shopping as another interaction and sales channel, a company boosts its omnichannel strategy (Hüseyinoğlu et al. 2017) and adds value for the customer, influencing their behavior.

Social commerce not only provides a different shopping experience, but also contributes to the discovery of new products (Shen 2012). Social commerce has been broadening its area of operation, no longer centered solely on websites, but also being driven by new technological solutions in social networks, and now has a presence on social networks. Recognizing this trend, social networks have invested in e-commerce features and tools, simplifying the process for companies to sell their products directly through social media applications (Singh and Singh 2018). Shopping posts, digital storefronts and in-feed shopping are some of the features implemented by social networks, allowing users to explore new products, engage with brands and make purchases seamlessly in the social media environment, contributing to the development of e-shopping (Sohn and Kim 2020).

Social shopping, social commerce and e-commerce are terms that describe the way people buy and sell products and services online. Although they have some similarities, each of these terms describes a different approach to e-commerce (Bilgihan et al. 2016; Busalim and Ghabban 2021; Huang and Benyoucef 2015; Jain et al. 2021; Kim and Chan-Olmsted 2022; Liao et al. 2022; Molinillo et al. 2018; Niranjanamurthy et al. 2013; S. Wang 2020).

The decision to buy through e-shopping can be motivated by different value perspectives that the customer may value, such as utilitarian and hedonic value (Overby and Lee 2006). Convenience, available information, social interaction and shopping experience are elements that cannot be overlooked in an online shopping process (Rohm and Swaminathan 2004). Kuşçu and Yozgat (2019) suggested that an online shopping process should provide utilitarian factors (control, convenience, assortment, economy/cost saving, availability of information) and hedonic factors (adventure, social, value/pleasure bargains).

2. E-Commerce

With the advancement of technology and the creation of the World Wide Web, new forms of trade have emerged (Melo 2021). One of the main forms is the purchase and sale of products and/or services through digital channels, known as e-commerce (Silvestre 2020). According to Clarke (1999), e-commerce is defined as the trade of goods and services through telecommunications tools. Allison (2013) considers e-commerce as an electronic contract for the exchange of value using information and communication technologies. E-commerce involves the use of the internet, the web, apps and browsers running on mobile devices to conduct digital business transactions (Laudon and Traver 2021). E-commerce has been evolving since 1995, but it was in 2007 that it was transformed and leveraged with the rapid growth of Web 2.0 (Zhang et al. 2021). Schneider (2016) presented three waves/evolutions: the first from 1995 to 2003, characterized by the rapid growth of e-commerce, called the “boom”; the second from 2004 to 2009, characterized by the increase in broadband connections in the home environment and the third wave, which has occurred from 2010 to the present date, characterized by the growth of the use of digital devices and the growth of high-speed cell phone networks (Yuthayotin 2015). Some authors differ on the dates of the evolution of e-commerce, such as Laudon and Traver (2021). With the mandatory confinements triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a reduction in traditional commerce, which, in some cases, even ceased to exist, with new growth opportunities for e-commerce, providing the emergence of the fourth wave, starting in 2020 (Basaure et al. 2021). Companies needed to reinvent themselves, betting on digital media to survive and there was exponential growth in e-commerce like never before (Premebida 2021).

3. Social Commerce

Social commerce is a relatively recent term in the commerce spectrum (Busalim et al. 2019). It was at Yahoo! in 2005 that the concept was first used (Rubel 2005). Yahoo!’s Shoposphere created the “Pick List” function that allowed users to give and receive product reviews (Zamrudi et al. 2016). Baghdadi (2016) stated that social commerce is a new way of doing commerce in a collaborative and participatory way, which involves interactions between all participants in the value chain. Social commerce is considered by some researchers as a new model of commerce (Hajli 2015), with a consensus that it comes from e-commerce (Zhong 2012) and can be seen as a subsection of e-commerce, based on the integration of social networks with e-commerce and the adoption of Web 2.0 functionalities (Huang and Benyoucef 2013; Li et al. 2014; Salvatori and Marcantoni 2015). Some researchers consider social commerce as the update of e-commerce, which seeks to monetize online and social interactions and user-created content, with users actively participating (Cui et al. 2018; Hajli 2015; Han et al. 2018; Huang and Benyoucef 2013). For Shin (2013), social commerce is limited to a web platform that connects users with other people online and leverages these connected networks for business, education and services, facilitating customer interactions and participation in ways that lead to qualifying outcomes. In turn, Hassan et al. (2016) considered social commerce as online buying and selling activities using social media technologies and digital platforms. Social commerce allows users to sell, buy, compare and share information about products and/or services to help other users purchase them, in marketplaces and online communities (Busalim and Hussin 2016; Esmaeili et al. 2015; Huang and Benyoucef 2013; Liang and Turban 2011; Yu et al. 2020; Zhou et al. 2013). Indeed, most social commerce concepts refer to some aspects such as social media, social interactions, word-of-mouth, user-generated content, e-commerce and Web 2.0 (Dennison et al. 2009; Han et al. 2018). Driven by social media, social commerce facilitates the buying and selling of various products and/or services (Kim and Park 2013; Wang and Zhang 2012; Zhou et al. 2013). Social commerce is an interdisciplinary topic that covers social media technology, analytical techniques, business models and strategies, customer and business behaviors, system design, website design and business practice (Zhou et al. 2013). The concept has evolved over the last few years, as social commerce encompasses several disciplines, thus being presented from various perspectives depending on the authors (Goraya et al. 2021). This evolution, according to Wang and Zhang (2012), is supported by four factors: people, management, technology and information.

4. Social Shopping

Like social commerce, there are several definitions, some without consensus, for social shopping, which is also known as Sales 2.0. Social shopping emerged in 2008 as a new e-commerce model and provided a new way for companies to access customers (Lee and Lee 2012). Some authors use the term social shopping as a subcategory of social commerce and social media (Curty and Zhang 2013). Social shopping is a form of e-commerce on social media (Lim and Beatty 2011). It allows users to make purchases directly on social media, such as Instagram, Facebook and TikTok, and to interact with other users and influencers through available possibilities such as product reviews and access to user-created content (Mróz 2021). The concept of social shopping has been growing strongly in recent years, as consumers increasingly use social media to discover new products (Ahmad et al. 2022). A study developed by Accenture (2022) estimated that the value of social commerce sales in 2025, worldwide, will represent 1.2 trillion dollars. In turn, Insider Intelligence (2023) mentions that social commerce in the US will reach a value of 79.64 billion dollars in 2025, representing only about a tenth of the size of the social commerce market in China. Social media has also invested in e-commerce features and tools to facilitate businesses to sell their products through social media (Singh and Singh 2018). Social media, in general, has shown steady growth, bringing customers together, who in turn create content, such as product sharing, reviews and comments on social media and on online shopping platforms (Fu et al. 2020). Social shopping is an approach to online shopping. It is based on interpersonal interactions between social media users, where consumers’ perceptions, attitudes and purchase intentions are influenced by their friends and other users through posts, shares, comments and recommendations (Xu and Lee 2019). In the context of social shopping, people are doing more than shopping online on their own (Hu et al. 2016). Compared to traditional online shopping, social shopping makes it easier and more convenient for users to explore products of their interest and receive buying advice, thus enhancing and personalizing their overall shopping experience (Kim and Park 2013). Moreover, social shopping is more than just buying products; it is also about creating an online community, where people can gain a greater social presence (Zhang et al. 2018). Social shopping has fundamentally changed the way businesses and consumers engage with each other (Wang et al. 2020). It is a dynamic and engaging experience that replaces lengthy transactions (Mileva 2022). Social media has included tools such as shopping posts and digital storefronts. These features allow users to discover new products, meet new brands and shop without leaving social media. Depending on the social network, consumers can use hashtags, the store tab, tags and other tools to find brands and products. They can also interact with companies and other customers through chats, content created by influencers and public and private groups. Brands create original content to attract customers (Mileva 2022). Social shopping combines product content, images and videos, stories, directories, consumer reviews and more (Liao et al. 2022). It can be perceived as a journey through commerce, where users research and explore products and engage with brands (Mileva 2022). Thus, commercial transactions supported by brands’ online engagement with customers become personal and relational (Mileva 2022). With the growth of social media usage and people becoming more comfortable with online shopping, social shopping is expected to take on a more important role in e-commerce (Wu et al. 2023).

5. E-Commerce vs. Social Commerce vs. Social Shopping

E-commerce, social commerce and social shopping are all related but have distinct differences (Han et al. 2018). Social commerce is a type of e-commerce, a shopping experience using technology, which allows interaction between sellers and consumers while shopping, providing a mechanism for social shopping activities (Shen 2012; Sturiale and Scuderi 2013; Wu et al. 2018). To summarize, e-commerce is the broader term that encompasses all commercial transactions that take place online (Chaffey et al. 2019), social shopping presents itself as a subcategory of social commerce (Li 2019) focusing on the social aspect of shopping (Wu et al. 2018), while social commerce integrates social media with e-commerce to create a seamless shopping experience (Liao et al. 2022) (see Figure 1). The Table 1 summarizes the concepts of e-commerce, social commerce and social shopping by combining different authors’ contributions.