The Onset of ‘Social Shopping’

Social media is gradually taking over our lives – at least that’s how it feels.

With over a quarter of all adults and nearly half of all teens now owning a smart phone (Ofcom, 2011) connecting to the internet on the move has never been so easy. In fact, it is now so easy it is beginning to affect the way we shop.

Social media has opened up access to retailers like nothing else before it. Now, it’s easy to send a tweet or comment on a Facebook page. Our complaints, compliments and questions can be fired at them with ease.

So how is that affecting our shopping habits?

Well, according to recent research by Reevoo, consumers said that social content is now beginning to shape their online shopping behaviour. Over half of all consumers found social media comments helpful when shopping online, with user reviews (48%) and friend recommendations (52%) being the biggest influencers.

The vast majority (88%) said they always consulted reviews before proceeding to the checkout, with 60% adding they were more likely to purchase from a site that carried such reviews.

Ignore social media at your peril

With online social interaction carrying that much clout, it’s imperative that businesses today engage in social media.

And that really does mean ‘engage’.

Merely having the accounts is not enough. You must also monitor them, respond to comments and questions, and be proactive by offering advice. And that means having a strategy.

More often than not, your customers’ first point of interaction with you will be through a social media channel. That means you must be alert to their tweets and Facebook comments and ensure your staff have a firm understand of what your policy is regarding complaints and compliments.

Taking in the bigger picture

You may think that your social media interaction with customers and their product reviews are separate entities.

To a certain extent they are, but your interaction as a company with your customers is bound to have an effect on the review they leave for others. Frequently, you see such comments not only talking about the qualities of the product in question, but also about the service levels received from your company.

Reviews are therefore seen as an endorsement (or not) of your company as a whole.

Therefore it is essential that you have a social media strategy in place, provide the best possible service at all times and respond to your comments in a timely manner.