Social Commerce
In recent years social networks such as Facebook and twitter have become dominant platforms to engage on mass with potential internet shoppers. The statistics speak volume; there are currently over 600 million active Facebook users (approximately 1 in every 12 people on earth) and at least half of them are logged in on any given day. Recent research shows that 57% of people talk to people more online - than they do in real life. Astonishingly 48% of 18 to 34 year olds check Facebook when they wake up - and 28% check Facebook on their smart phones before even getting out of bed. In relation to direct retail, 1 in 4 Facebook users (over 150 million) have made a purchase via a Facebook page.
Social commerce is not limited to just a Facebook page, our social commerce strategies include the encouragement of user-generated advertorial content, customer ratings and reviews, user recommendations and referrals, social shopping tools (such as “Like” buttons or Facebook Stores), forums and communities, social applications and social advertising. This phenomenon is something that retailers need to embrace.
