Social media metrics retail brands can’t ignore
Author:
Categorised In:
Share:
We have all seen social media transform into one of the most powerful drivers when it comes to brand visibility, customer engagement, and most importantly revenue. Retail brands are no longer using platforms like Meta, TikTok and Pinterest to just ‘show up’ but instead leveraging them to drive measurable business results. However, with so many metrics offered up by these platforms it’s often a challenge to identify which one truly matters when it comes to the bottom line.
The numbers tell the story: In 2025, 65% of marketing leaders want to see direct connections between social media campaigns and business goals, yet only 30% of marketers feel they can actually measure social media ROI. That gap highlights the ongoing difficulty of tying online engagement to actual sales (Sprout Social).
76% of UK consumers plan to buy directly via social media in 2025, yet only 46% of retailers currently support direct purchasing (The Times). That leaves an enormous opportunity for retailers willing to invest in the right infrastructure and metrics.
The problem with pretty numbers
We’ve all been there: scrolling through analytics dashboards, feeling good about those impressive follower counts, sky-high reach numbers, and thousands of likes. These vanity metrics can be quite flattering to look at, but they often tell us very little about what matters most. Whether our social media efforts are actually driving sales and building customer loyalty.
Think about it: would you rather have 100,000 followers who never buy anything, or 10,000 engaged followers who regularly purchase from your brand? The answer seems obvious, yet many brands still chase the bigger, shinier numbers instead of the meaningful ones.
The reality of modern customer journeys
Here’s the truth about how people actually shop today: it takes anywhere from seven to ten touchpoints before a customer converts, emphasising the need to be omnipresent across multiple platforms and channels. A click on instagram today, a product review on youtube and a retargeted ad on TikTok next week might all combine to create confidence needed for a purchase. It helps to view metrics holistically to a point rather than in isolation.
This is especially powerful for retail brands with brick-and-mortar locations, where online influence often drives in-store sales.
One example is M&S; which gets social commerce right.
M&S one of the UK’s retail leaders, has solved one of the problems we’ve all experienced – falling in love with something on Instagram only to find it’s out of stock when you finally get to the store.
Here’s what they figured out: 38% of shoppers now check inventory online before making the trip to a physical store. That’s more than a third of customers doing their homework first. M&S uses their platform to make sure what you see online is actually sitting on their shelves.
But they don’t stop there. When you’re browsing, they’re smart about suggesting products that work together – think a jacket with the perfect scarf and boots. These bundled recommendations don’t just help you put together a great outfit; they naturally increase what you spend per visit.
The real genius? Everything talks to everything else. Your social media discovery connects to real inventory, which connects to personalised recommendations, which connects to your in-store experience. It’s all one smooth journey instead of a bunch of disconnected touchpoints.
The bottom line:
The brands crushing it in social commerce aren’t just posting pretty pictures. They’re creating experiences where your Instagram browsing seamlessly flows into real-world shopping – no frustrating dead ends, no empty shelves, just a shopping experience that actually works the way you want it to (Manhattan).
Key questions to ask:
When it comes to metrics that provide value it’s a good starting point to have these questions:
- Does this number reflect real customer engagement?
- Can this metric inform a decision?
- Does it connect to our long-term vision of growth and profitability?
If the answer to any of these is “no,” you might be looking at a vanity metric.
Onto the metrics
Firstly we have the vanity metrics such as likes, impressions, follower counts which can often be quite flattering to look at. But more often than not it does not always translate into sales or building up customer loyalty. When it comes to the bottom line we see metrics like click through rates, conversion rates, return on investment and average order value and customer lifetime value deemed a lot more vital especially in the retail space.
A few industry figures underscore the scale of the opportunity:
- Global social media ad spend is expected to hit $247.3 billion in 2025, which could yield $1.305 trillion in revenue worldwide.
- Facebook remains dominant, with 89% of global marketers investing in Facebook ads in Q1 2025.
- TikTok is emerging as a revenue powerhouse, with its ad revenue projected to reach $23 billion in 2025, showing a dramatic shift in how retail brands prioritise ad spend.
The rise of influencers and affiliates
Influencer and affiliate marketing are no longer side tactics; they are central to social media ROI. 69% of marketers are favouring influencer marketing on instagram as their top ROI driving platform in 2025 (SQ Magazine).
Key stats:
- Affiliate-driven purchases are 6× more likely than non-affiliate social content (Business Insider, 2024).
- Nano-influencers (under 10k followers) generate engagement rates up to 4× higher than celebrity influencers, offering strong ROI at lower cost (Sprout Social, 2025).
Retail brands that measure the success of influencer partnerships via conversion and ROAS not just engagement are far better positioned to scale profitable campaigns.
Especially for a fiercely competitive industry like retail, tracking the right metrics is crucial.
Engagement rate
The percentage of people who interact with your content (likes, comments, shares, saves clicks) compared to how many people saw it. This is a good initial signal to see whether content resonates, highlights customers interest and acts like a precursor to conversion.
Engagement alone is not the final goal but without it, clicks do not happen, and without clicks there can ultimately be no sales.
Click through rate (CTR)
CTR measures how many people click on your social post or ad relative to impressions. This is one of the clearest signals of intent. If someone clicks, they’re curious enough to learn more or shop.
CTR shows how effectively your creative, copy, and targeting inspire action.
For retail brands:
- A strong CTR means campaigns are driving people into the e-commerce funnel.
- It helps identify which products, messages, or platforms spark genuine customer interest.
Conversion rate
At the heart of social media ROI is the conversion rate – the percentage of visitors who complete a desired action (purchase, email sign-up, add-to-cart, etc.) after clicking on your ad.
It is directly tied to revenue, it helps to identify which campaigns and platforms drive actual sales not just traffic. These micro conversions like email sign-ups or add-to-cart, can be valuable stepping stones in longer customer journeys.
Return on ad spend (ROAS).
ROAS measures how much revenue is earned for every £ spent on advertising. For retail brands that rely heavily on paid social, ROAS is arguably the most important metric.
- It directly quantifies profitability.
- Allows brands to compare performance across platforms.
- Helps optimise budget allocation.
Example: If you spend £10,000 on Instagram ads and generate £40,000 in revenue, your ROAS is 4:1. This means for every £1 spent, you earned £4.
Average order value (AOV)
This is the average dollar amount spent each time a customer completes an order.
It helps to identify opportunities for upselling and cross-selling. Guides promotional strategy (e.g., offering free shipping above a certain threshold). Reveals which product bundles or collections perform best.
A campaign that delivers fewer conversions but higher AOV may prove more profitable than one that converts more frequently at lower order values.
Repurchase and retention rates
Retail thrives on repeat business. Beyond conversions, brands must track:
- Quarterly repurchase rate: How many customers buy again within 90 days.
- Churn rate: The percentage of customers who don’t return.
- Retention rate: The inverse of churn, showing brand stickiness.
These metrics are essential for subscription-based retail models, but also for any retailer looking to build long-term loyalty.
Lifetime value (LTV)
LTV is a crucial, often overlooked social media metric for retail brands. It measures the total expected revenue from a customer over their entire relationship with the company, not just one purchase. This long term view can therefore inform paid media strategy and justifies the ad spend on platforms that bring in loyal customers.
Understanding LTV helps retailers:
- Set acquisition cost benchmarks.
- Justifies higher ad spend on platforms that bring in loyal customers.
- Prioritises long-term profitability over short-term wins
Deloitte’s 2025 State of Social Commerce report found that while 96% of social-first brands prioritise social commerce, only 39% report high ROI – suggesting that retention and repeat purchase strategies are underdeveloped compared to acquisition efforts.
With paid media costs rising year on year from $1.09 in 2023 to $1.24 in 2024 (SQ Magazine) it’s more critical than ever for retail brands to maximise the return on every pound spent. In a highly competitive landscape, the pressure is on to demonstrate real, measurable value from campaigns, making precision and efficiency in paid media strategies non-negotiable.
The right infrastructure
With all these key metrics, it’s vital to implement the right tracking infrastructure.
- UTM parameters for precise campaign tracking.
- Pixel integrations (Meta Pixel, TikTok Pixel, etc.) to measure conversions.
- Attribution models that connect social touchpoints to final sales.
- Dashboards (e.g., Google Looker Studio, Power BI) to visualise performance across platforms.
Data Integration:
- Customer Data Platform (CDP) to unify customer data across touchpoints
- Enhanced e-commerce tracking in Google Analytics 4
- CRM integration to track customer lifetime value and repeat purchase behaviour
- Inventory management system integration for real-time stock visibility
Without the right tracking in place, brands risk relying on surface-level insights that don’t tell the whole story.
In conclusion
The retail winners on social media in 2025 won’t be the ones with the most followers or likes. They’ll be the brands that understand which metrics move the needle and act on them strategically.
Retail brands must evolve beyond vanity metrics. The metrics that matter most are those that:
- Reflect actual customer behaviour (CTR, conversions).
- Connect social spend to revenue (ROAS, AOV).
- Prioritise long-term growth (LTV, repurchase rates).
Social media is a proven revenue driver: £1 invested in social advertising can generate more than £5 in return. But to harness its full potential, retail brands must measure what matters. Top of funnel brilliance, viral posts, high reach does not guarantee bottom of funnel impact. By tracking the right metrics, retail brands can transform social media from a “nice to have” presence into a predictable revenue engine.
In 2025, the retail winners on social media won’t be the ones with the most followers or likes. They’ll be the ones who understand which metrics move the needle and who act on them. Strategically bridging the gap of the 76% of UK consumers who plan to buy directly via social media.
