As is customary on a Monday, I was catching up on the marketing press on the train this morning and read Michael Nutley’s piece from Marketing Week about ‘social commerce’. As he terms it, the new buzz term, made all the more exciting by including ‘social’ which, as we in the communications world know, is all the rage these days. [As an aside, out there in the real world, a recent IPA TouchPoints survey found that only 37% of the 6,000 UK consumers polled use social media, so let's not get carried away, people.]
Statistics aside, ‘social commerce’ is set to take off when Facebook launches its new virtual currency, Facebook Credits (rumoured to be happening in September), but Max Factor is an early mover in this emerging sector thanks to P&Gs plans to start selling direct to consumers via Facebook.Â
Increasingly, and for very good reason, brands are looking to convert chat about their products on social networks into sales with the fewest clicks possible and, with ever-growing numbers of people using social networking to seek out product recommendations, it makes perfect sense. As an avid online shopper, I automatically prioritise sites which include customer reviews and ratings as it’s just about the closest I can get to ‘try before you buy’. When you can’t get touchy-feely with a product prior to parting with your cash (and if you’re not happy with your purchase you’ve got a tedious returns process to go through), any affirmation of your decision before you put in your credit card number has got to be a good thing.Â
And what could be better than believing the words of a perfect stranger than consulting friends who you actually trust and who know your likes, dislike, foibles and pet hates? This is the beauty of social commerce. Just like shopping with friends but without having to leave the sofa. No wonder that sales uplifts can be dramatic following social media recommendations.
