Social media has become the place to buy during COVID

Social media has become a key location for retail inspiration and purchases during the COVID-19 outbreak. A time when shops have often closed. The fastest growth of all has been on TikTok (+553%). The platform has seen sales grow faster than the more established Pinterest (+356%), Instagram (+189%) and Facebook (+160%). This is according to Bazaarvoice Influenster.

79% is more influenced to shop on social media

Bazaarvoice Influenster questioned 3,373 UK shoppers. The 3,272 respondents were 18% Generation Z, 71% Generation &, 10% Generation X and 1% Baby Boomers. They found that more than three quarters (79%) say they were now more influenced to shop on social platforms than they were a year ago. 64% had bought on Instagram over the past year. This is followed by Facebook (45%) and TikTok (24%). The number that say they “always" shop from their smartphone rose by 214%. In addition, those who “always” shop from social media were up by 146%.

Ed Hill, SVP EMEA at Bazaarvoice, says, “The impact of the pandemic on social commerce is significant. Over the past year, commerce has become a cornerstone feature for social platforms, as consumers have spent more time on social apps. Brands that have realised this opportunity have succeeded, as consumers are now more likely to see – and be influenced by – brand advertising, user generated content (UGC) and influencer posts.”

Encouraging shoppers to try new brands

Social media plays a key role in encouraging shoppers to try new brands. 70% are trying new brands via social in the last year. Furthermore, 49% are opting for a new brand thanks to social media. When asked what encouraged them to buy from a new brand on social media, 47% said it was the relevancy, followed by a product’s benefits, features or ingredients (41%), visual brand content (27%) and the price (27%). When brands are previously unknown to the shopper, they are most likely to be swayed to buy by the product’s benefits, features or ingredients (45%), ahead of relevancy (43%) and price.

Standing out on social media

In order to stand out on these platforms, brands and retailers must distribute content to all the places shoppers find their products. This varies from in-store to search to social. Retailers can take them from the point of product inspiration and discovery by incentivising consumers to buy their products on social. This is all the way through to purchase without even leaving an app. Social commerce is not simply about making posts shoppable. Retailers need to take customers from just buying online to truly shopping online with an engaging and inspirational shopping journey.