Social commerce is now a significant feature of retail


With more people buying online, social commerce has become extremely popular. More and more consumers are looking for approval from influencers before making a purchase. As such, giants such as Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest have built virtual marketplaces so that they can make the most of this situation.

Since social media is now more than just a peer-to-peer communication method, brands are creating profiles across numerous platforms and are taking advantage of the spontaneous scrolling effect of advertisements. Retailers such as Cariuma have confirmed that these types of engagements, including text messages and gamification, allow businesses to access more consumers.

As such, firms are developing increasingly innovative solutions for merchants and customers. One example is the recent collaboration between Shopify and Facebook. This has led to the creation of Facebook Shops, a system that allows sellers to create a digital storefront via which consumers are able to browse through their products and make purchases in-app. Both firms have their own mobile-first approaches which are very successful, but according to the CEO of Shopify, “the pairing of the two platforms shows immense promise in advancing entrepreneurship and commerce”.

Nonetheless, when using social media to attract customers, companies have to make sure that the whole process is seamless since lags and being redirected to external websites can discourage clients while checking out.


Social media sites allow firms to access more consumers

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