Editor’s note: Margie Kupfer is Vice President, Marketing at 3Cinteractive.

The statistics are nothing short of bewildering, if you think about it. There is an endless supply of stats that talk about the power of social media and how it greatly influences purchasing behaviors for shoppers, as well as their friends and family. Nearly half of Americans (47 percent) say Facebook has the greatest impact on purchase behavior (compared to 24 percent in 2011). And 50 percent of all Americans have a Facebook account.

It also feels as though there are about as many stats available in talking about the rise of mobile usage when shopping for products and services. According to Adweek, 82 percent of mobile users turn to their phones inside a physical store when making purchasing decisions. This is pretty significant when you consider that there are more than 350 million Americans. The same article says roughly two-thirds of Americans own at least two devices.

As mobile usage continues to grow, new social platforms have also evolved, bringing a whole new element to social marketing. Messenger apps such as Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and Viber have all become popular, but is it wise for a brand to rely on these alone for communication with its customers?

Millennials and Gen Z 

Millennials are at the center of this conversation and might be considered the biggest disruptor to shopping patterns in our lifetime. The real disruptor, though, could be the next demographic, loosely termed Generation Z. After all, Millennials grew up with social media when they were in school but Generation Z has never lived a day that didn’t involve the devices, gadgets and the social/digital way of life.

This is a critical thought because today’s purchasing power demographic is quickly becoming Millennials, who are now old enough to purchase their first home and have their second child. However, the oldest among Generation Z are turning 20, not far from getting some major purchasing power of their own.

Social mobile marketing

So why does this concern you as a brand marketer? Because these are the two generations that will become a major force of shopping in a few short years. And brands that truly capture their attention will build their businesses around both mobile and social messenger apps. As such, the days of social media marketing are quickly turning into social mobile marketing. In order to thrive with these audiences, brands must combine the powers of social and mobile in order to reach these two groups.

Here’s where the plot thickens, because social mobile isn’t just coming into its own for these two demographics. Everyone from Boomers to Gen Y and Gen X are using the combinations of mobile technology and social media. In 2015, 98 percent of Fortune 500 companies used some form of social media to engage with customers. What’s more, the number of global mobile phone users is expected to pass the five billion mark by 2019.

Mobile and social come together

There are several key ways mobile and social will continue to grow together that will help shape marketing programs for brands both large and small. Shoppers’ willingness and propensity to share a coupon or experience instantly through mobile with their friends and family members will only grow. Brands will begin to adopt more widespread ways of marketing thorugh mobile-social users for things like driving mobile app downloads. With the rise of local-enabled marketing, successful marketers will distribute proximity-based mobile wallet objects, such as coupons or loyalty rewards, via social networks. Additionally, brands will also acquire new mobile program users through compelling offers on their social pages.

Mobile will continue to be a big part of the customer experience for these social platforms, as well as a significant part of a brand’s integrated marketing strategy between the mobile and social channels such as the use of messenger apps.

Successful brands that continue to embrace and evolve with the confluence of mobile and social will not only capture demographics with growing purchase power, such as Millennials and Gen-Z, but will also increase sales potential to other user groups as well.