Social Channels Benchmark Report
Introduction
Each quarter, Fairing analyzes millions of post-purchase survey responses to understand which marketing channels actually influenced a customer’s decision to buy. These surveys appear immediately after checkout and offer direct, first-party data about what drove the purchase.
This benchmark report compares data from Q4 2024 and Q1 2025 to help marketers understand how attribution trends are shifting. It focuses on six key social media platforms—Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, Snapchat, and Twitter/X—through three core dimensions of marketing performance:
Channel Influence: The percentage of customers who say a specific platform influenced their purchase.
Average Order Value (AOV): The relative value of purchases attributed to each channel compared to the store average.
Repeat Revenue Share: The portion of revenue from returning customers tied to each platform.
These metrics reveal which channels are driving not just conversions, but also customer value and retention. The data comes from thousands of digital brands actively using Fairing’s attribution surveys, offering a consistent signal across a range of verticals.
This, and future, benchmark reports aim to support marketers in making better-informed decisions about where to invest, how to optimize media mix, and how to connect upper-funnel activity with long-term outcomes.
Key Findings
Our analysis from Q4 2024 to Q1 2025 surfaces several critical trends in platform performance, indicating both maturing behavior and emergent opportunities in optimizing marketing budget channel allocation.
1. Facebook leads influence growth, TikTok remains strong. Facebook posted the largest quarter-over-quarter increase in attributed purchases, but TikTok followed closely, underscoring its continued role as a cultural discovery engine and growing force in early-stage influence. (See Table 1 below)
2. Instagram remains the top channel, with diverging strengths. Instagram continued to be the most cited source of influence among buyers. However, it experienced only modest quarter-over-quarter growth and saw a significant drop in repeat purchase revenue share. While it excels at generating initial conversions, its ability to support long-term engagement appears limited in this timeframe. (See Tables 1 & 3 below)
3. Facebook is proving durable, but price-sensitive. Facebook saw steady growth in purchase influence but remains one of the lowest performers in AOV. Its strength appears to be volume-based, likely bolstered by retargeting and broad campaign reach. However, marketers should be cautious about relying solely on Facebook for profitability. (See Tables 1 & 2 below)
4. Snapchat quietly improves in retention. Despite no change in purchase influence, Snapchat was the only platform to increase its share of repeat customer revenue. This points to a niche audience that, while small, may be worth exploring further for customer loyalty campaigns or retention-driven messaging. (See Tables 1 & 3 below)
5. YouTube and Twitter/X outperform expectations on value, not volume. These platforms hover near or above the store's average AOV despite modest attribution rates. YouTube’s long-form, evergreen content and Twitter’s fast-moving cultural currency may be attracting higher-intent or more premium customers. While neither platform showed major growth in attribution, their economic value per conversion remains strong. (See Tables 1 & 2 below)
In aggregate, these findings suggest a divergence between volume and value across platforms. TikTok and Instagram drive significant influence but are increasingly associated with lower repeat engagement or AOV, while YouTube and Twitter, though less often cited, may offer higher-quality traffic. Snapchat's performance highlights the value of looking beyond the top line.
Marketers should consider using a blended strategy—leveraging high-volume channels for reach and integrating value-heavy platforms for margin stability. The data also underscores the importance of segmentation: different platforms may serve different stages of the customer journey, and optimizing for one outcome (like acquisition) may not align with another (like lifetime value).
TikTok and Facebook continue to generate lower-value transactions relative to the shop average, with TikTok trailing furthest. YouTube and Twitter/X maintain better alignment with high-AOV purchases, outperforming peers in relative value. Instagram shows mild improvement, indicating potential for growth in order quality with optimization.
TikTok and Facebook continue to generate lower-value transactions relative to the shop average, with TikTok trailing furthest. YouTube and Twitter/X maintain better alignment with high-AOV purchases, outperforming peers in relative value. Instagram shows mild improvement, indicating potential for growth in order quality with optimization.
Snapchat was the only platform to grow its share of revenue from repeat customers, gaining nearly 2 points. Instagram had the sharpest drop at over 6 points, while TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter/X also declined notably—suggesting challenges in retention for the most popular acquisition channels. YouTube stayed relatively flat.
YouTube posted the most significant vertical gains, especially in Sporting Goods (+5.9 pts) and Consumer Electronics (+3.3 pts), underscoring its strength in research-heavy, high-consideration categories. Instagram rebounded in Consumer Electronics and Health & Beauty, though performance dropped in Apparel and Housewares. TikTok showed only modest movement across verticals, but slight gains in Apparel suggest continued resonance in trend-driven segments.
Facebook suffered broad-based losses—especially in Consumer Electronics (-8.4 pts) and Sporting Goods (-7.6 pts)—signaling potential fatigue or targeting challenges. Meanwhile, Snapchat made positive contributions in Sporting Goods and Other, hinting at growth in niche or loyalty-driven verticals. Twitter/X saw small but positive movement in Other and Sporting Goods, though its overall influence remains limited.
