Facebook commerce holds promise for retailers
Facebook commerce holds promise for retailers
Source: Emarketer
Social networks don’t account for much ecommerce yet, but heavy Facebook users see it as a one-stop shop.
Krista Garcia, eMarketer analyst and author of the new report, “Facebook Commerce: Reaching Shoppers Where They Socialize” says that it is not surprising that shopping and socializing - activities that complement each other in the real world - are beginning to converge online as well. “As social media, and Facebook in particular, plays a larger role in consumers’ lives, people are becoming accustomed to performing routine tasks like reading news, watching videos and listening to music, as well as discovering products and shopping, all while staying logged in to a single site. Instead of compartmentalizing daily routines, social media users are treating Facebook as a one-stop platform”.
Retailers are still in the early stages of using social media as a sales vehicle, but the channel is poised for growth. Booz & Company estimated that $1 billion in goods would be sold through social media in the US in 2011. That figure is expected to triple in 2012 and reach $14 billion by 2015.
While social commerce still represents a tiny percentage of overall retail sales, and Facebook is just one social site, that site is the clear leader and already offers retailers a variety of options for converting users into consumers. Some of those consumers are warming to the idea of buying products and services while on the site. In a Q4 2011 Oracle survey of North American internet users, “Cross Channel Commerce: The Consumer View” in November 2011, nearly one in five respondents said they would buy through Facebook or had already done so.
Friday, 27 January 2012 13:51