Social commerce and the AI trust gap

Transparency will decide loyalty in the era of social commerce, explains Rory O’Connor, founder and CEO, Scurri. 

For younger consumers, social commerce is where shopping is moving at pace, on TikTok Shop, Instagram AI Shopping and Pinterest AI. These platforms offer not only product discovery but seamless, personalised journeys through to checkout. The opportunity for brands is huge. But so are the risks. Unless the trust gap around AI is closed, social commerce may drive transactions but not loyalty.

At Scurri, we believe loyalty is earned not at the point of purchase, but in a superior post-purchase experience, through delivery updates, branded tracking notifications and returns. This is where AI can transform logistics from a back-end function into a loyalty engine and by default a business revenue driver.

Social commerce is often friction free upfront but flaky afterwards. Up front, AI powers the shopping ecosystem (TikTok’s recommendation engine, Instagram’s AI tools, Pinterest’s predictive algorithms) and creates an effortless path to purchase. But what follows often lets the experience down, specifically clunky fulfilment, vague tracking and opaque returns. For TikTok native brands built on repeat purchase this can be fatal.

Scurri’s research shows what consumers now expect from AI after checkout. 60% want real-time, AI-powered tracking while 57% value optimised carrier allocation and 51% expect proactive delay updates. Yet only 34% are willing to pay extra for faster AI-enabled delivery. Speed alone isn’t enough. Reassurance, transparency and reliability matter more. Delivery is logistics of course but it is part of the branded customer experience.

There’s also a sharp generational divide. While 72% of consumers believe AI can help retailers manage social commerce, only 57% are comfortable with AI handling deliveries. Confidence is highest among Gen Z (85%) but drops significantly among Boomers (58%).

For Gen Z, raised on algorithms and recommendations, AI-powered delivery is expected. They want immediacy, predictive updates and personalised notifications that extend the energy of the shopping experience all the way to their door.

Boomers, by contrast, are more cautious. Just 16% of over 65s use AI shopping tools. What they want is reassurance - clear communication, transparency about how AI works and the knowledge that humans are still involved.

This creates an opportunity. AI can cater to younger consumers through automation, while also providing the transparency and control older shoppers require. The key is to segment post-purchase experiences, not to treat all customers the same; it's back to the basics of customer segmentation, personalisation and relevance. .

Still, some expectations are universal. 94% of consumers told us they expect transparency about how their data is used by AI. But only half currently trust AI not to compromise their privacy.

That’s why Scurri advocates for an AI transparency promise as part of every brand’s customer experience. Shoppers want updates but they also want to understand how and why their data is being used to provide them. This demands branded delivery notifications that explain what’s happening and why, clear FAQs about how tracking data is handled, opt-in controls within loyalty schemes and customer service scripts that present AI as a helpful assistant rather than a faceless algorithm

Retailers who lead the transparency narrative will lead on trust. Some of TikTok’s fastest-growing native brands already get this. Their edge doesn’t come from slick ads, but from what happens after the purchase. Delivery updates are in the brand’s own voice. Tracking portals are proactive. Returns are handled with the same urgency as checkout.

Each of these touchpoints is a chance to reinforce brand promise. A proactive delivery update reduces WISMO queries and reassures customers. A predictive returns assistant builds confidence and boosts repeat purchases.

This is the Scurri philosophy - delivery, tracking and returns should be treated as brand experiences, not operational afterthoughts. When AI powers these experiences, it becomes part of the marketing infrastructure.

Too often, delivery is outsourced to carriers or buried in generic portals. In the world of social commerce, this is a mistake. A TikTok purchase might be impulsive, but loyalty depends on what happens next. Every update, notification and return is a chance to turn a one-time sale into a long-term customer.

AI gives brands the power to allocate orders to the best carrier, forecast and prevent delays, send real-time, branded notifications and deliver consistent, personalised experiences across generations, all while handling this at scale and pace.

AI has already redefined product discovery and acquisition personalisation. The next challenge is to close the trust gap in fulfilment. Consumers are clear on what they want, proactive communication and reliability without extra cost and transparency, especially around how their data is used.

Retailers should therefore segment experiences by generation, embed transparency into every interaction and treat delivery and returns as part of the brand promise, not back-office tasks.

At Scurri, we believe the winners in social commerce will be those who use AI improve how they deliver products but also deliver trust in every notification, every update and every return.

For more insight into this topic click here to download the full report and research.