South Africa, March 28 -- The future of retail hinges on capturing the market for Gen Z, a demographic born between the mid-to-late 1990s and early 2010s that is expected to command up to $9tn in global spending power by 2034 - more than any other generation.

Social media shopping - a fragmented landscape made up of dozens of platforms like TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube - is a key battleground.

Retailers need a unified commerce platform that combines AI capabilities, a centralised data foundation, and seamless application interoperability to manage these increasingly complex shopping journeys.

Key findings

*Fifty-three percent of all shoppers now discover products through social platforms, up from 46% in 2023.

* Gen Z is leading the...