Social Media Effectively Connecting Shoppers and Retailers

A recent study has shown that 42% of online shoppers connected with a retailer via social media.

According to the 2011 Social Commerce Study, a joint research project by Shop.org, comScore and Social Shopping Labs, showed that shoppers are willing to interact with retailers through a variety of social media, giving retailers limitless opportunities to capitalise on the momentum.

Shoppers are willing to interact with retailers through social media, Facebook or Twitter to find information on deals, products and contests according to the study.

A few specifics from the study of 1787 adult online shoppers:

• 42% of online consumers have “followed” a retailer proactively
• The average person follows about six retailers showing the effectiveness of the connection between retailers and shoppers using social media
• 58 % say they follow companies to find deals
• 49% say they want to keep up to date on products
• 39% follow retailers for information on contests and events

Overall 56% of the Facebook users and 67% of the Twitter followers visited a retailers’ website as a result of the post on Facebook or a tweet.

The study also revealed that these shoppers were accessing the social media sites with their smartphones and IPads. These shoppers were accessing their Facebook or Twitter sites at least once a day.

The popularity in the use of smartphones and IPads will continue to boost the power of social media, so all retailers need to be in the forefront of the incredible opportunities presented to them.

The study also revealed that shoppers are also using mobile devices for research and information while shopping in stores.
47% have accessed customer reviews in store using their mobile device and interestingly enough it showed 55% men were more likely to access these reviews in store than women which was only 39%.

Another area revealed by the study was the group-buying sites like Groupon, LivingSocial and Gilt City which showed that though only 19% of shoppers actually purchased through one of these sites, 82% were aware of these group-buying sites. These sites, though still in their infancy stage will certainly gain momentum and spread to more cities around the country and retailers will have an opportunity to experiment not only with established sites but also group-buy promotions on their own Facebook pages and websites according to Social Shopping Labs founder, Peter Leech.

So there are interesting times ahead with shoppers and retailers being effectively connected through social media, so retailers this is the time to ensure you are on board with your social media and the interconnectivity with your website.

Enjoy Kaz :)