Dollars & Sense: Your social media feed is becoming a shopping mall

What to know:Social commerce is expected to top $100 billion in U.S. sales this year.Creators can earn commissions when followers buy products they recommend.Where you complete the purchase matters – particularly if something goes wrong.ORLANDO, Fla. – See it. Want it. Tap it. Buy it. Welcome to shopping in 2026. That may not sound too different from how consumers have been shopping online for years; what’s different now is where your shopping starts. For years, social media helped companies sell products by showcasing them and then sending you somewhere else. Click the ad. Visit the retailer’s website. Find the product. Add it to your cart. Check out.Yeah, we’re done with that.Like online banking, online dating, and online entertainment, online shopping is evolving at lightning speed. Social media is no longer the platform to tease the product – social commerce can now instantly turn you from a browser to a buyer. And Americans are doing a lot of buying.Globally, there are an estimate