14 DAY TRIAL // The social web is influencing more and more sectors online and shopping hasn't been spared. A big number of retailers already has some sort of presence on social websites and their number is growing rapidly. It's not enough to have a good website these days, as a great Facebook page or YouTube channel are equally important, according to a study by eMarketer. Twitter, on the other hand, despite claiming business services are a big part of its strategy, hasn't managed to convince that many businesses yet.
The report shows that almost 57 percent of the top 500 online retailers in the US also have a Facebook page, as the social network seems to be the most popular social avenue for these types of businesses. Also important for many online retailers is YouTube and 41 percent of them have a presence on the video site. Finally, MySpace is also a popular tool, despite its declining user numbers, with almost 29 percent having a MySpace account as well. Twitter only makes it to number four with only 20 percent of online retailers believing that it can be a valuable tool.
“While user ratings and reviews are a mature form of social commerce with proven benefits, e-commerce on social media platforms, such as Facebook and Twitter, is in an early stage,” Jeffrey Grau, eMarketer senior analyst and author of the report, said. “People are spending more time on social networks and are able to conduct more of their regular activities on these platforms. E-commerce on social networks has barely tapped that potential.”
The interest in social networks seems to be lucrative for retailers as, according to another study, social-networking users are more likely to make online purchases than average Internet users. And the number of retailers using social networking is expected to grow even further, as 99 percent of all online retailers in the US plan to have a Facebook Page within a year, compared with just the 86 percent that already have one. Twitter is also bound to become more appealing, with 85 percent of retailers planning to have an account by this time next year.