Have you ever wondered about the impact of social media on shopping behaviour? So here are some facts that may help you. With 82% of Americans using social media according to Statista, the influence that popular platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and others have on shopping behaviour has become increasingly important. The extent to which social media impacts consumer behaviour extends far beyond United States as 3.78 billion people use social media daily worldwide according Oberlo.
BigCommerce report that by 2023, ecommerce in US alone will reach $740 billion annually and social media will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in funnelling and swaying consumer decisions on how that money gets spent.
To find out more about social media’s impact on shopping behaviour DealAid conducted a study which surveyed 1130 consumers in the United States and focuses on discovering key factors that shape purchasing decisions on social media. The survey was conducted through SurveyMonkey services and the demographic composition of the 1130 individuals surveyed is as follows.
Key findings from the impact of social media on shopping behaviour.
- 78.6% of consumers discover new products and brands on social media that they eventually end up purchasing.
- Most Americans get their shopping recommendations on these social media platforms: Instagram (52.4%); Facebook (49.5%); and YouTube (48.5%).
- On average, Americans spend $49 per month because of shopping recommendations they get on social media.
- Majority of consumers trust and follow brands (58.3%) to get their shopping recommendations on social media. Friends (46.6%), Comments (26.2%) and Content Creators (24.3%) as well as Influencers (25.1%) were cited as popular sources.
- When consumer see a new product being promoted on social media, Quality & Price (81.4%) was the most important factor about the promoted product. Relevance (53.3%) and Appeal (47.9%) were the two other factors considered.
- 55.3% of consumers have more trust in content creators/influencers that explicitly highlight sponsored content.
- 79.1% of consumers will look up what other users are saying about a product/brand on social media before purchasing it.
- The two most preferred content formats by consumers to find about new products and brands are Video (61.2%) and Image (54.4%).
- 52.1% of consumers also indicated that they would prefer to see product recommendations prior to start of a video.
- Most consumers will check out a product and buy it after two (31.1%) or three (26.3%) times that they see a content creator promote it.
- 78.4% of consumers use exclusive coupon codes mentioned by content creators.
- 80.1% of consumers that are happy with the product they purchased are more likely to follow and act on future shopping recommendations by the content creator who recommended the product.
- 72.8% of consumers that are not happy with the product they purchased are less likely to follow and act on future shopping recommendations by the content creator who recommended the product.
