"Does my bum look big in this?"
Getting a second opinion is nothing new; shoppers look to their friends for advice on purchases, whether they’re buying a new piece of clothing or a piece of tech. Sharing opinions is an inherent part of the shopping experience, but the way we gather advice has changed as the shopping experience has shifted in priority from in store to online.
Where we once swapped opinions in the changing rooms, we’re now using images and comments on social media to tell our friends what we think. 58% of top brands have a Twitter audience of 100,000 or more according to Simply Measured and 53% of fashion consumers engage with brands via Facebook, according to Kantar Media. This community is highly powerful in the journey to purchase. Consumers are looking to friends and family, as well as celebrity influencers, for inspiration on the latest trends and products to buy.
Research estimates that within the next two years the value of social media for retail will more than double from £1.5bn to reach around £3.3bn. Twitter and Facebook have gradually been making waves into ecommerce, and the launch of their recent ‘buy’ functions are a natural next step for the social platforms. Image-led social publishers like Pinterest and Fancy have also been game changers for the way people interact with retailer brands online. Providing the ability for consumers to create wish lists and pin boards of desire, these sites allow consumers to display their style through a virtual shopping list, endorsing products in the process. Argos has jumped on the wish list trend by releasing a digital app for children to share their Christmas lists, and Pandora is also encouraging shoppers to sign up to the Pandora Club to share gift lists with friends and family via social media.
Our own research has revealed the trends generating buzz on social media around fashions for the Christmas party season. The Little Black Dress was the most talked about Christmas party outfit, with over half (50.79%) of party goers citing the trend. Men also appeared to become more fashion conscious for Christmas as nearly a third (31.29%) of tweets around the subject of ‘party season fashion’ discussed menswear or referred to men’s clothing. By understanding the products generating conversation amongst customers, brands can understand how to better target them, appealing to their personal preferences.
If brands aren’t considering social publishers within the shopping journey, it’s likely they’re missing out on huge opportunities. Firstly, nearly half of social media users are actively deciding what to buy based on what they have seen on social media platforms, including reviews and recommendations. Shoppers trust experts – celebrities, designers, friends and family - so a positive second opinion is likely to influence them to buy. Social content publishers like Motilo let fashionistas share opinions and linked images so that users can buy directly from this content.
Secondly, millennials (more so than any other generation) shape their identities through consumption, and products shared online is a strong indicator of brand affiliation. According to Kantar, 1 in 4 consumers aged 25-34 will use social media to comment on retail experience, and it’s possible to build brand advocates through their communities. A research report from ShareThis cites that millennials are twice as likely to purchase products they share, and it’s this tech-first age group which has truly bought into the social media shopping phenomenon. GoPro is a great example of a brand that uses social media content to generate engagement. By showing their products in action, the brand has become associated with daredevil stunts and outdoor activities. GoPro’s launch video for the HERO4 camera has clocked up more than 18 million views in just 3 months, showing the effects of supporting products with creative content marketing.
Retargeting is also an important method that retailers are using on social to keep consumers coming back to their brand. After seeing a product on social, customers are still likely to shop around for the best deal and research several product options. Navigating the journey to purchase is complex and it’s easy to lose a shopper to the competition. However, retailers are seeing success from using partnerships with social publishers during the discovery phase of shopping. Brands should use interactive content and dynamic targeted ads to ensure that engagement is continuous, reminding shoppers of items they have viewed or shared.
This social media shopping phenomenon raises a question about measurement though; should we all be rewarded for being publishers? Today everyone is sharing products socially and recommending them to friends via their network. The fact that peers can influence sales is clear, so should we be rewarded by brands for our role in the journey to purchase?
For digital marketing, many companies have looked to a ‘last click’ attribution model. This rewards the final click before a customer makes a purchase. However, now that customers’ purchase paths are longer than ever, with the average shopper making nine and a half visits to a retailer’s site before deciding to buy, many are championing attribution models that take into account every stage of the consumer’s decision to purchase. In the future could there be a commission model that rewards a fellow shopper’s recommendation or an individual’s social media share for its role in the purchase journey?
Paying commission in this way gazes into a possible future, but what’s clear is that this approach would encourage more social product sharing, as consumers seek rewards for driving sales amongst their friendship group. According to HubSpot, 58% of Facebook users expect offers, events or promotions when they become fans. By building a relationship with a brand champion, brands can encourage loyalty; however if consumers were to be rewarded in monetary terms, trust in social sharing would also certainly diminish too.
Social media shopping is a reflection of the second opinion phenomenon, as consumers seek advice on what they’re buying. Gathering this approval is a reflection of the detailed research and convoluted journey to purchase that shoppers embark on today. Searching the web is so easy that consumers won’t stop looking until they are certain that they are buying the right product. Although this has brought about challenges for retailers to understand how to reach consumers, social also provides a chance for brands to re-engage with consumers throughout the discovery phase. Through targeted content and dynamic ads, brands can harness the social shopping experience and keep shoppers coming back so that they are led down the sales funnel to a purchase.
By Mark Haviland, MD of Rakuten Marketing Europe.
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