Social Media Shoppers on the Rise

A jump in online and mobile shopping is dramatically changing the face of retailing. If you’re in retail sales, you need to have your ear to the ground on the fast-changing trends that could mean the success or failure of your business in the years to come.

 

A recent study by retail research specialist Conlumino for e-commerce partner Webloyalty revealed that more people now use social media, price comparison websites and apps when shopping online. In fact, over two-thirds of consumers now belong to social media websites, and nearly half have “social media” shoppers, interacting with retailers through social media.

 

More consumers are using their social media contacts to learn about new products and brands, basing what they buy on customer reviews. Researchers intimate that by 2020, 25 percent of consumers will use mobile shopping to price check or purchase goods. The time to prepare for social shoppers is now, when just under four percent of consumers buy through social media channels and "direct and influenced" sales are just 6.5 percent of total online sales.

 

The Conlumino study notes that many retailers are slow adopters of social media platforms. Far too many still depend on social channels to drive traffic to their store websites. Less than one-fifth of consumers regard their retailers’ social media sites informative and useful. This underscores why retailers should invest in making their social media sites more relevant and user friendly.

 

Managing director of Webloyalty UK & Ireland, Guy Chiswick notes that retailers must be more proactive in serving the needs of social media shoppers. “The emergence and adoption of new digital channels means that retailers need to incorporate social media and mobile technologies into their store and multi-channel environments to actively engage and interact with their customers,” said Chiswick.

 

Conlumino’s Neil Saunders re-affirmed the importance of the emerging retail trend. “Social media will have a widening impact on the entire retail environment, with its role in the online shopping process growing in importance as the amount of data available on social media platforms enables experiences to be tailored specifically to the user’s interests and tastes,” said Saunders.

 

The 6th annual installment of the Motorola Solutions Holiday Shopping Study found that shopping-related technologies impact the shopper experience across a wide range of demographics. According to the study, 64 percent of Gen-Y and 52 percent of Gen-X shoppers used their personal mobile device for shopping-related activities; 46 percent of Gen-Y and 36 percent of Gen shoppers found information faster on their personal mobile device than asking store associates; and 54 percent of Gen-Y and 43 percent of Gen-X shoppers were likely to access guest Wi-Fi for shopping-related activities.

 

Clearly, retail managers and executives will need to embrace social media shoppers by integrating social media and mobile technologies into their store and multi-channel environments.  

 

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