Instead of fighting the crowds at the mall, Canadians are turning to social media for their holiday shopping. PayPal Canada unveiled its inaugural Social Commerce Trend Study, which reveals that nearly 40 percent of social-media users plan to shop on social media this holiday season. Approximately six out of 10 Canadian social-media shoppers say that they are more inspired by the holiday gift recommendations they see on social media versus what they see at a bricks-and-mortar store. It makes sense: Most of us are inspired by the images we see on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat, particularly aspirational posts by our favourite influencers.

We chatted with Toronto influencer Sylvia Jade (@hellosylviaa), who has been shopping on social media more this season than she did last. She attributes this increase to social media having adapted advanced features, such as Instagram’s “Shop Now” tab. “The Instagram Shop Now feature allows me to shop for items on the go. It’s a testament to how social apps are making their platforms more shopping friendly,” says Jade. “I don’t have time to go to the mall, and in-store shopping doesn’t always allow me to filter through the things I like or find the colours and sizes I want easily. Shopping on social media is much more organized and makes it easier for me to find exactly what I want and need.”

Many leading influencers have monetized their enviable wardrobes by setting up shops on apps like Depop and Poshmark, including Jade, who has sold on both platforms. When it comes to shopping on social media, Canadians are more comfortable paying with PayPal (70%) than any other payment method, including credit gift cards (62%), credit cards (54%) and debit cards (43%). Depop, a popular social shopping app among millennials and gen Zers, exclusively uses PayPal to receive payments from its 15 million users.

The number of social-media shoppers is on the rise. Nearly half of Canadian social-media users shop on social media, and more than half find it hard to resist buying something they love that they see on social networks. Two in five Canadian social-media users shop on social media at least once every six months, and 46 percent of users say that they are more likely to shop on social media this holiday season than last year.

With social media, we have great style at our fingertips. We can literally shop anywhere: on our commute, over our lunch break, at our favourite coffee shop. With a bevy of style influencers and fashion brands sharing their daily content, it’s not a surprise that more than half of Canadian social-media shoppers flock to fashion items like clothing, shoes and accessories.

This holiday season, PayPal is encouraging you to Give Better. It has teamed up with popular brands and small businesses to help you find thoughtful gifts from companies that give back. Check out paypal.ca/givebetter.