Social commerce might be being hailed as “the next big thing”, but it has yet to make its mark on the overall bottom line with the majority (89%) of people not having bought anything on Facebook, and 44% not yet interested in doing so.
That is the key finding of a new survey – conducted by Havas Media Social and Lightspeed Research – which shows brands need to understand more about what the consumer wants before jumping into social commerce.
Havas Media Social, a full service social media offering which represents Havas Media agencies Archibald Ingall Stretton, 247 Social, Cake and Socialyse partnered with Lightspeed Research to understand consumer attitudes towards social commerce and current online shopping trends.
As more and more brands are looking to incorporate Facebook or other social networking stores into their ecommerce strategies, the research found that extra work needs to be done in order to provide consumers with a more ‘social’ shopping experience.
In terms of what would drive people to purchase via a social networking site, exclusivity was key – with one quarter (25%) stating they would purchase a product on Facebook if it wasn’t available anywhere else, and 11% saying they would buy something that was only offered to ‘fans’ of a brand. Almost one fifth (17%) believed they would buy from a social network if it was easier than the traditional ecommerce experience. Trust in brands is essential – with 22% of respondents saying they would buy from Facebook if they could do so from a brand they know and trust.
The research also highlighted a need for more consumer education and reassurance, with 44% of respondents believing that a store on a social network would be less secure than a regular ecommerce site.
Havas Media Social director of social media Amy Kean said: “Based on industry predictions and the rate of innovation in this space, social commerce is likely to become a reality – but there’s still a lot more work for brands to do to help consumers get their heads around it. It is the understanding of social behaviours – not the technology – that we need to prioritise.
“It’s not enough to simply facilitate purchasing through Facebook, or any social network with a ‘lite’ version of your online store – social commerce must be about creating a truly social shopping experience. Through tapping into the power of recommendation, giving fans special offers and getting friends to buy together, social commerce will carve its own niche, offering something that the traditional purchasing process cannot.”
