TikTok may have taken the lead when it comes to online shopping, but other social media companies will soon make up for lost time, according to an analyst.

Chinese TikTok has become a short-video driven ecommerce leader in recent years. During recent cybershopping extravaganza holidays in China, the social media platform has utilised its platform to drive billions in sales.

While that success has so far been limited to China, that hasn’t stopped other networks from attempting to emulate the experience.

Despite having limited success in their efforts, analysts believe more western social media companies are vying for a slice of the online shopping market.

“Social media platforms such as [platforms] like Facebook, Instagram [and] TikTok, which has actually been getting a lot of momentum around [online shopping], are looking into how they can better provide ecommerce solutions,” Chris Dinga, payment analyst at GlobalData, said in a new podcast from the research firm.

“So that [is] called social commerce, [which is] any form of ecommerce transaction done within social media platform.”

Dinga predicted that social media companies will double down their efforts in the coming years to secure the full online shopping experience on their platforms.

These platforms already provide shopping to some extent. However, it is limited.

For instance, if you want to buy something you like on Instagram, the Meta-owned platform will provide you with a link which will take you outside of the social network.

Dinga explained that social media companies aim to ensure that they control the full customer journey in the future.

That will enable them to keep track of all users and their purchases. That data will also provide them with a presumably better user experience and enable them to make even better targeted ads.

GlobalData is the parent company of Verdict and its sister publications.