Survey Says: The Impact of Social Media on Consumer Buying
Posted by Amanda Brooke on Tue, Dec 22, 2009 @ 01:41 PM
We’re all hearing a lot these days about the significant impact of social media on consumer buying, and according to the latest research, it isn’t just hype.
Based on research and surveys conducted by various organizations, social media is becoming more and more influential when it comes to buying habits of shoppers all over the world.
Here are a few factoids about social media and buying trends that might give you some food for thought if you are on the fence about using social media marketing:
From Manage Smarter, September 2009:
A whopping 83% of online shoppers say that they want to share info about their purchases with people in their social sphere or others on social media sites.
An impressive 74% of folks say that they are influenced by what others have to say about a product they are considering buying.
From BIGresearch, December 2009:
When it comes to electronic sales, online user reviews have the biggest influence on shoppers---47%.
Ditto for apparel sales…33.6%.
From eMarketer, October 2009:
Online shoppers put a LOT of trust in the opinions of others on social media sites about a product or company, 65% of users 18-24, in fact.
Between 10-24% of all US online social media users will check the buzz about a product on the social site before buying.
In 2008, there were almost 116 million user generated content consumers and 82.5 million content creators in the United States, with the numbers predicted to rise considerably in the near future.
From Internet Retailer, September 2009:
Almost 70% of online shoppers will spend more on internet purchases after a company or product is recommended by others on a social community site.
Etailing Survey of 117 companies, September 2009:
Customer reviews of brands and products at online social sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and others is considered the number one most effective technique for motivating consumers to talk about products online.
If you are wavering about harnessing the power of social media to build your ecommerce business, those tidbits might help you make up your mind!