Shopping has always been a social activity. Just two years ago, you would find people discussing the good and bad about their recent purchases over coffee.
Today, e-commerce finds people shopping from the comfort of their home, and social commerce means they’re still shopping while being social on their preferred platforms such as Instagram Checkout or Facebook Shops.
Here’s how social commerce has impacted consumer behaviour.
What the data reveals1
How consumers react to social commerce
Consumers are always looking for benefits when selecting a product, or a store, and one necessary benefit, in today’s fast-paced world, is saving time. This is where social commerce comes to the fore. Consumers are supplied with comparative information about their imminent purchases in a click, or a tap, eliminating the need to check other stores or competitor products.
What’s more, studies by Hootsuite found that consumers trust social media more than brand websites for feedback on products and customer testimonials.
Social commerce offers brands the opportunity to capitalise on this fast-growing behaviour.
Social commerce proves that consumers are not just influenced by social media, they trust it more than traditional online commerce. As marketing professionals for B2C brands, you should include social commerce in your strategy or you’ll be ignoring a vast portion of your target audience and allowing them to walk past your store and not take a look.
How to harness social commerce2
For years, brands have used social media as an awareness or education tool, now, social media has entered it’s ‘buy now’ phase, which inspires and empowers consumers to see, like and buy.
Here are some insights to help you turn audiences into customers using social commerce.
While many consumers still shop in brick-and-mortar stores, data tells us not to ignore social commerce. By introducing social commerce, brands can continue to streamline the path to purchase, and meet audiences in the spaces they occupy.
Award-winning co-founder and executive creative director of G&G Digital, Desirée Gullan has been pivotal in producing many breakthrough digital communications based on deep, strategic insights. From strategy to creative direction, Gullan drives her agency to produce outstanding work and results-driven campaigns that add value to G&G’s clients and their consumers.
