Social media has quickly become a primary purchasing platform for consumers with no sign of slowing down. For example, recent survey data from Sprout Social found that 98 percent of consumers plan to make at least one purchase through social shopping during the course of the next twelve months.
Social shopping is a method of e-commerce that some businesses are exploiting. This is a chain of events where shoppers’ friends become involved in the shopping experience, through sharing news about purchases and from making recommendations. This process is seen as particularly strong in terms of brand recognition.
A trend within retail is for consumers to increasingly become what advertisers are referring to as ‘social shoppers’. In response to such trends, brands need to refocus their efforts on these channels to not only better engage with consumers but also to convert browsers into buyers.
The report provides more detail of the key trends brands must know about and those they should seek to take advantage of the social commerce opportunity. These are:
Consumers want to see immersive features
Social shoppers are diving deeper into online communities and embracing emerging platform features, such as 3D imaging enabling objects to be moved and totalled. This is in response to over 85 percent of consumers indicating they are already shopping over social. This means consumers are more open to brands using enhancing technologies like virtual reality and augmented reality features in their product discovery or purchasing journey.
Inclusivity matters
Shoppers want their online communities to reflect the diversity of their physical community. This means seller with few products are less likely to attract an increase in custom. From the survey, consumers indicated they were 60 percent more likely to buy from a brand with diverse content on offer.
Friends’ recommendations reign supreme
A key driver for spending is the recommendation of another person. Even in the age of influencers, friends remain the ultimate influencers among consumers aged 18-40, with their recommendations being the number one influence on social purchases.
However, with the groups beloved by marketers, Gen Z, Millennials and Gen X consumers are showing stronger tendencies for putting their trust in social media influencers in the same way they do friends. This is growing where credible recommendations are made and honest product reviews are provided.
