See it on Facebook. Buy it on Amazon.

Guest Column: Yesudas S Pillai, Entrepreneur, Investor, Marathoner and a Curious observer, shares how social media drives discovery, but marketplaces build transaction trust

by Yesudas S Pillai
Published: Aug 18, 2026 8:38 AM | 4 min read

A consumer's negative experience with a social commerce purchase from Inkarto highlights the gap between product discovery on social media and the trust needed for transactions.
Many consumers prefer established platforms like Amazon for purchases due to concerns over trust, customer service, and payment security, especially when dealing with lesser-known brands.
The article emphasizes that while social media is effective for product discovery, it may not be the best platform for completing transactions, suggesting that businesses should consider selling on trusted marketplaces to build consumer confidence.
Trust infrastructure, including reliable customer service and consistent pricing, is crucial for the future of commerce, as consumers are willing to pay more for assurance and security in their purchases.

That seems to be becoming the consumer behaviour around social commerce. I had a recent experience that made me understand why.

I was looking for some stationery and came across a product from Inkarto on social media. It looked interesting, so I bought it. What followed was a lesson in the difference between discovery and trust.

The order was prepaid. WhatsApp messages went unanswered. Calls to the call centre kept ringing. After multiple attempts, I finally got through. The attitude was unbelievably casual. I was told it would be shipped the next day.

After more follow-ups, I got a tracking number. The courier said there was no record of the shipment. More calls. More waiting. Finally I was told the courier hadn’t updated its system, a ticket had been raised and the order would reach me soon.

The order was placed on August 9. Almost 10 days later, I still don’t have a proper update. At this point, I actually started wondering if this is a genuine business or a fraud!

That is the real problem. I discussed this with a few friends. Their response was consistent: “I don’t buy from social media.”

Unless it is an established brand offering a significant price advantage, they said they would first look for the same product on Amazon. If the price is comparable, they would buy it there. But why?

Simply because consumers aren’t only buying a product. They are buying the confidence that something will happen after they pay.

India’s e-commerce ecosystem has spent years building that confidence, seller ratings, reviews, payment protection, order tracking, returns, refunds, customer support and, importantly, a platform that consumers know where to go back to when something goes wrong.

COD is another manifestation of the same trust gap. Despite our extraordinary digital payment adoption, COD remains a significant part of online commerce as paying only when the product arrives reduces perceived risk. This article in The Economic Times⁠ corroborates this.

Social commerce is growing rapidly. Discovery is increasingly happening through creators, feeds and recommendations. But discovery doesn’t automatically create transaction trust.

This is where I think many businesses selling through social platforms are leaving money on the table.

The barriers are quite obvious:

The brand isn’t recognisable.
• The brand isn’t available on a trusted marketplace.
• COD requires an advance payment.
• The price on social media is different from the marketplace price.
• There isn’t any credible customer service after payment.
• The consumer has no established expectation of what happens when things go wrong.

There is an interesting strategic implication here. Social media is the best place to discover a product. It is not the best place to complete the transaction.

For a lesser-known brand, being present on a trusted marketplace can therefore be more than a distribution strategy. It can be a trust strategy.

Businesses should think twice before offering a substantially lower price on their own social commerce channel.

The short-term logic is obvious: Avoid marketplace commissions, offer a lower price and get the sale.

But the consumer’s calculation could be different: “Why should I save ₹100 and take all the risk?” That ₹100 saving is actually buying the consumer’s uncertainty. So price parity across touchpoints isn’t just about channel conflict. It is about trust.

The future of commerce will not be: Social → Discover → Buy It would be: Social → Discover → Search → Validate → Buy where I trust.

When that happens, the biggest competitive advantage of marketplaces won’t necessarily be their assortment or discounts. It will be something much harder to build: Trust infrastructure.

For brands, the lesson is simple: Don’t just ask, “Where can I sell?” Ask, “Where does my customer feel safest buying from me?”

In commerce, the transaction doesn’t end when the payment is made. That is when the brand’s real responsibility begins.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not in any way represent the views of exchange4media.com.