Worldwide Social Media Benchmarks: Ecommerce Q2 2026

User-generated content: what’s achievable

Brands using Emplifi’s UGC solution this quarter saw:

• 5.27x increase in conversion rate
• 6.61x increase in website visits
• 1.34x increase in average order value

These figures represent the median uplift seen across Emplifi’s Brands UGC Accounts Benchmark for Q2 2026.

Organic performance: Facebook and Instagram

Interaction share by industry

On Facebook, Ecommerce accounts for 27.5% of total brand interactions — the highest share of any category. On Instagram, Ecommerce leads with 37.4% of interactions.

Facebook interaction distribution (Q2 2026):

Instagram interaction distribution (Q2 2026):

Platform landscape at a glance

In Worldwide, Instagram brand profiles carry a higher median follower count than Facebook pages. The figures below reflect relative standing across all profiles in the sample at the end of Q2 2026.

Activity volume on both platforms is higher on Instagram, while user engagement on Instagram also outpaces Facebook.

Median post interactions

Median post interactions track the middle-ranked page or profile by monthly interactions — a measure of typical performance rather than outlier peaks.

Instagram median post interactions declined gradually across the past year, from around 41 in May 2025 down to roughly 31 by June 2026, while Facebook held broadly flat in the single digits across the full period.

Relative median post interactions

Relative median interactions index each platform’s performance against its own peak over the reporting period, making it easier to compare directional trends across platforms regardless of absolute scale.

By June 2026, Facebook’s relative median interactions had dropped to around 60% of its peak after a choppier path with a brief rebound near 100% in January 2026, while Instagram declined more steadily to around 75% of its own peak.

Median post impressions

Impressions measure how many times posts were displayed, regardless of interaction. This metric is available for both platforms and reflects reach rather than engagement.

Instagram impressions climbed sharply through mid-2025, peaking near 7,500 in September before pulling back to approximately 4,000 by Q2 2026 — likely reflecting algorithmic reach patterns tied to Reels distribution. Facebook impressions stayed lower throughout and eased further to around 2,500 by the end of the period.

Engagement rate trends

Median post engagement rates this quarter:

• Instagram: ~1.90%
• Facebook: ~0.45%

Instagram engagement has remained broadly stable over the past year, hovering in a tight band, while Facebook engagement has stayed flat and well below 0.5% for the full period.

Best-performing post types

Facebook: Live Video and Reel continue to outperform other formats organically. In Q2 2026, Live Video generated a median of 22 post interactions, while Reel reached 4.

Instagram: Carousel and Reel posts lead organic performance. Carousels generated a median of 31 post interactions this quarter; Reels reached 38.

Full organic post type performance (Q2 2026):

Post type distribution trends:

On Facebook, Photo remains the dominant post format at around 62% of posts, though Reels are gaining share steadily — rising from near zero earlier in the year to approximately 28% by Q2 2026. On Instagram, Reels, Images, and Carousels each account for roughly a third of posts published, with Reels and Carousels driving the majority of top-performing content.

Top performing pages and profiles

Facebook — top pages by total interactions (Q2 2026):

Instagram — top profiles by total interactions (Q2 2026):

Top posts this quarter

The highest-performing individual posts by interactions across Worldwide brands in Q2 2026:

Facebook:

Instagram:

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Paid performance: Facebook and Instagram ads

Where brands are spending

The majority of paid spend for Worldwide Ecommerce brands goes to FB feed, followed by IG feed and IG instagram stories. Spending on FB feed is 18.42 percentage points higher than on IG feed.

CPC and CPM by placement

The most cost-efficient placements for Worldwide Ecommerce brands this quarter:

• Lowest CPC: FB feed, FB facebook reels, and IG instagram stories
• Lowest CPM: FB facebook reels, FB feed, and IG instagram reels

CPC and CPM by placement (Q2 2026):

Click-through rate by placement

Within the Worldwide Ecommerce brands benchmark, FB feed leads on CTR at 1.62%, compared to FB facebook reels at 0.93%.

CTR by placement (Q2 2026):

Cost trends over time

Q2 2026 ad cost benchmarks for Worldwide:

Ecommerce-specific CPC ran consistently below the Worldwide-all-industries figure across the past year, sitting around $0.15–0.19 for most of the period, dipping to roughly $0.12–0.13 in January 2026, and ending near $0.135 in June 2026 — versus $0.19–0.23 (dipping to $0.17) for Worldwide overall. CPM for Ecommerce tracked slightly above the Worldwide line for much of the year, peaking near $2.55 in November 2025 before easing to around $2.15 by June 2026, close to the Worldwide figure of roughly $2.10–2.15. CTR told the clearest story: Ecommerce CTR ran well above the Worldwide average throughout, peaking near 1.65% in November 2025 and settling around 1.50% by Q2 2026, compared to a steadier Worldwide CTR of roughly 1.00–1.15%.

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