Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus – I’m not so sure of that. However, I have no doubt that men and women have different habits when it comes to anything and everything – online shopping being no exception to that rule. A recent research from ShopperCentric shows that while men are gadget-frenzy and prefer using smartphones for online shopping, the fairer sex prefers to use social networks such as Facebook for cracking online shopping deals.
The research also confirms that social media is yet to make massive in-roads in the shopping world. Only a meager 6% netizens currently use social media platforms such as Facebook to buy goods and services.
Detailed Statistics
The ShopperCentric research covered 1,000 people between the ages of 18 and 64 being used for the quantitative research and two focus groups of people between the ages of 18 and 35 being used for the qualitative research. Though the target audience was UK, I believe that the results provide a good indication of the global state of social media for online shopping.
- Only 9% shoppers follow brands on social networks
- Only 6% use social media for online purchases
- 37% believe it makes no sense for brands to use social media
- 18% believe it makes no sense for retailers to use social media
- 38% men use a smartphone compared to 29% of women
- 60% women use Facebook actively as compared to 52% men
- 38% of 16-24 year olds follow brands
- 18% of 35-44 year olds follow brands
- 18% of 55+ year olds follow brands
Broader Picture
There’s no question that brands and businesses need to do a lot of ground work to tap social media as a channel for online shopping. The research confirms the opportunities exist, especially because younger consumers are far more likely to engage in social media than their older counterparts.
While businesses must strive to use social media as a channel for customer engagement, it’s also equally important to educate customers that social media offers a convenient and fully secure channel for online shopping.
Men vs. Women
A popular saying goes – Man is a social animal. However, women seem to be taking the leap when it comes to embracing social media. However, the research confirms that women have yet to become as engaged with brands and retailers through their preferred medium of social networking.
Of course, social media marketing to men is a different ball game altogether.
Social Media vs. Retail websites
Unsurprisingly, retail websites rule the roost in the world of online shopping. Nearly three out of four research respondents admitted they visit these sites with 63 per cent saying that their main motivation for doing so is to buy something. Till now, social media has been used in a supporting role to bring traffic to retail websites which provide the actual online shopping experience. However, the encouraging response to innovative offerings such Facebook Deals and Facebook Places confirms social media to be a viable channel for online selling/ shopping.
Does your business sell products through the internet? If so, have you leveraged social media to sell your products/ services online? Do you believe women are more likely to engage in online shopping through social media? Please share your opinion by leaving a comment below this post.
Being a maketing and social media specialist, I know how businesses would like to push for ecommerce through social networks. But also being a huge social media enthusiast and LOVING what social networks & tools represent in terms of transforming the way we lead our lives & businesses, I’d hate to see them getting steered into being just another market where everyone is jumping into to make a quick sell! In my opinion, social media should be about engaging with your stakeholders, understanding their needs & how best to serve them first & foremost. Leave the sales to the other traditional methods; unless your understanding of your customers’ needs indicated that they’d appreciate the “optional” ability to shop through their preferred social networks.
Thanks for the great insights and valuable stats.
@TheManalyst
Thanks Manal for your great comment. Preferably, leaving social networks to strictly networking would have been great but social commerce is becoming self a evolving process the social platforms are willing to experiment with until they find its boundaries.
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