The biggest obstacle to consumer adoption of social commerce appears to be security concerns. A study from Digitas finds that nearly half (45%) of social media users would be “at least somewhat comfortable” giving their credit card info to a known brand through a secure payment process on a social media site like Twitter or Facebook.

Of those users, the males (51%) are more likely to give their credit card info to brands on a social network than females (40%).

Those with a household income of $35K+ (50%), the study suggests, are more likely to give their credit card info than those making less than $35K (38%). Social media users age 18-54 (49%), it finds, are significantly more likely to do so than those age 55+ (35%).

“Throughout 2011, we saw social marketing and social commerce connect consumers in new ways with sellers, services, vendors and brands,” says Beth McCabe, VP, Social Marketing & Technology at Digitas. “As we enter into the next phase of social commerce, the survey findings show social networks must address security concerns. The results also show that brands and retailers should focus more of their social commerce efforts on male social media users and connect with them via mobile devices – the primary connection point to consumers in the post-PC digital era – as they move their strategies even deeper into their consumers’ graphs.”

Here’s a more in depth look, infographic style:

Are you comfortable giving your credit card to merchants via social media? Let us know in the comments.