Social Commerce: Selling Through Social Media

How platforms like Meesho let resellers sell through WhatsApp and Facebook, how influencers drive shopping, and why social commerce suits smaller-town India.

Social commerce means buying and selling through social networks.

Meesho

Meesho, founded in 2015, started by letting resellers, often women at home, share product catalogues with friends on WhatsApp and earn margins.
It later became a marketplace focused on low prices and small-town buyers, and listed in 2025.

Influencer shopping

Instagram and YouTube creators promote products with links.
Live shopping streams.

Why it works in India

Trust: people buy based on friends’ and creators’ recommendations.
Vernacular content.
Low prices for price-sensitive buyers.

Challenges

Returns and quality issues.
Fraud from fake sellers.
Regulation of influencer disclosures.

Global

In China, social commerce through apps like Douyin is huge.

The home reseller

A homemaker in Jaipur shares sarees from a platform's catalogue with her WhatsApp groups, earning a margin on each sale.

Thinking e-commerce only happens on big shopping sites

Social networks drive much buying.

Key takeaways

Social commerce sells through social networks.
Meesho began with WhatsApp resellers.
Influencers and live shopping drive sales.
Trust and low prices suit smaller-town India.