How Social Media Users Respond to E-commerce Integrations

With e-commerce activity increasing in 2020, social media platforms have sought to tap into this trend by adding new in-stream discovery and buying options to boost revenue opportunities and maximize usage.

But are consumers really interested in buying things on their social feeds, and how much opportunity is there in integrating social and commerce?

Bazaarvoice sought to find out with its latest study. Through its Influenster Community, the research company polled more than 14,000 consumers to get their thoughts on product discovery through social apps, their buying influences, and which technologies interest them most in relation to online shopping.

The survey revealed that about 76% of people are influenced to shop via social media, of which 65% use social media for shopping inspiration. Meanwhile, 60% shop based on influencer recommendations and links, while an equal percentage 60% shop from the content of brands that they follow, and 55% shop from friend and family recommendations. About 42% use social media for information gathering.

In terms of shopping platforms by social platform, all users said they use Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, Youtube, and Pinterest for social inspiration. 

Compared with in-store purchases, more people use social media to shop for beauty products (91%), apparel (81%), home (60%), and health wellness (54%). Meanwhile, the ratios are flipped when shopping for food and beverage (58%) and electronics (42%), as more of the respondents said they prefer shopping in-store.

Overall, 69% of those surveyed said they sometimes shop from special media influencers. These shoppers are most influenced by subject matter experts (35%), friends and family (25%), and social media stars (23%). Only 5% of respondents were influenced by celebrity recommendations.

The survey also revealed that shoppers are open to trying new shopping experiences on social media with 53% saying they would try shopping via live streaming, 42% via digital publishers such as BuzzFeed or Tasty, and 25% via augmented or virtual reality.

READ MORE:

https://www.socialmediatoday.com/news/new-study-looks-at-how-social-media-users-are-responding-to-ecommerce-integ/619860/