5 Social Shopping Trends
Shaping the Future of Ecommerce
May 26, 2010
Lauren Freedman,
Pehr Luedtke,
President, the e-tailing
group, Inc.
CEO, PowerReviews,
Inc.
The Voice of Cross-Channel Merchandising
•
15 years ecommerce consulting
•
Author, It’s Just Shopping
•
50+ years traditional retail and catalog
experience
•
Fortune 500 client projects ranging from
strategic planning, merchandising,
marketing, to technology development
and messaging
•
Proprietary research studies on mystery
shopping, merchandising and consumer
behavior
The leader in social commerce, focusing
exclusively on retail
•
With over 1000 clients, the most widely
deployed customer ratings platform in
the world
•
Most robust product offering
•
Technology platform complimented by
human support
pg. 2
Webinar Agenda
I. The e-tailing group Trend Tracker
II. Why the consumer voice? Why now?
III. 2010 Social Shopping Study Results
5 Social Shopping Trends Shaping the Future of Ecommerce
IV. Social Commerce Success Planner
V. Q&A Session
pg. 3
The e-tailing group Trend Tracker
Social shopping from the merchant perspective
pg. 4
The Merchant Adoption Curve
Beyond the merchandising standards ratings/reviews occupy a prominent place on
the product page while social and sharing tools quickly see escalated penetration
Feature
2009 2008 2007
Product page
Recommendation
98%
95%
96%
Zoom
89%
90%
86%
Alternate views
Ratings/ Reviews
76%
74%
68%
58%
66%
50%
Share
67%
28%
N/A
Color Change
Link to Social
Networking Site
64%*
60%
60%*
N/A
57%*
N/A
Streaming Video
Product Demo
Blog
55%
N/A
N/A
36%
26%
10%
Source: 2009 e-tailing group Mystery Shopping Survey
pg. 5
Reviews ranked in top 1/3 of features;
social via sharing gains prominence
All 50 features in the survey in descending order as rated very to somewhat valuable (5-3)
Keyword Search
Cross-sells
Seasonal Promotions
Sales or Specials
Email as a Merchandising
Top Sellers
What's New
Up-Sells
Search Landing Pages that are
Merchandised
Alternative Views
Coupons/Rebates
98%
95%
95%
94%
94%
88%
87%
87%
87%
83%
80%
Advanced Search
Exclusives
78%
Category Content
Video
Alternate Payment Methods
Recently Viewed
Sharing via Social Networking
Email Customer Service Alerts
Gift Center/Suggestions
Gift Certificates/Cards
Brand Showcase
Online Outlet
Multiple Ship-to's
68%
68%
66%
64%
63%
62%
Limited Hour Promotions
Community Features
Product Comparisons
Frequent Buyer Programs
Live Chat
Pre-Orders
50%
48%
46%
46%
45%
43%
61%
Create Your Own
Custom/Personalized Products
43%
60%
Mobile Applications (new)
41%
59%
59%
57%
56%
77%
Color Change
Free Shipping - Conditional
Promotional Incentives to Buy
74%
Zoom
Guided Navigation
Product Ratings & Reviews
Deferred Payment Plans
Collection Selling (Shop by
Outfit/by Solution/View in a Room)
As Advertised
39%
38%
38%
35%
55%
Interactive Tools
3D Visualization
Free Shipping - Unconditional
55%
Gift/Wedding Registry
26%
74%
Contests
54%
In-store Product Locator/Look-up
24%
70%
Wish Lists
Blogs
53%
In-store Pick-up and/or Returns
22%
69%
28%
52%
Source: 2009 e-tailing group Mystery Shopping Survey
pg. 6
Many merchants are already
employing social tools on their sites
Which community and social media tools does your company employ today or plan to
employ in the next 12 month?
Community or Social
Media Tool
Facebook fan page
Customer reviews
Twitter publishing
Blogs
Facebook connect
Social listening tools
Viral videos
Questions and answers
Community forums
Product suggestion box
Employ today
78%
65%
64%
45%
41%
33%
30%
29%
22%
16%
Plan to employ Considering for
in the next 12 future, beyond
months
1 year
13%
20%
16%
27%
30%
27%
19%
22%
14%
24%
No plans to
employ
4%
7%
9%
10%
9%
16%
22%
21%
29%
20%
5%
8%
11%
18%
20%
24%
29%
28%
35%
40%
Today 78% employ Facebook fan pages, 65% use customer
reviews,and 64% are publishing via Twitter
Source: 2009 e-tailing group Mystery Shopping Survey
pg. 7
Why the consumer voice? Why now?
• The information about products,
categories and brands available online
is growing exponentially
• With so much content available,
consumers now have to “edit” in order to
make the right shopping decisions for
their needs
• Considerations relative to trust come
into play as more social options exist for
sharing and gathering information
• While the media fuels adoption of new
technologies, customers will have the
final say on which merchants and
information they will ultimately trust
pg. 8
5 Social Shopping Trends Shaping
the Future of Ecommerce
2010 Social Shopping Study Results
pg. 9
Survey Methodology
In March 2010 PowerReviews and the e-tailing
group fielded an online questionnaire to over 1,000
consumers (50% male/50% female) who shop
online four or more times annually, spending over
$250 via that channel.
Survey Objectives
• Understand category-centric behavior relative to overall trust and online
shopping
• Explore customer utilization of social media to assess perception, interest,
and propensity to buy based on engagement with these newer tools
• Trend customer reviews and social shopping monitoring changing and
evolving consumer behavior since the initial jointly sponsored survey in 2007
• Assess merchant perception relative to consumer interest level in social
media tools
10
pg. 10
5 Trends in Social Shopping
1 Control rests with consumers
2 Research starts with search, but happens on
brand and retailer sites
3 Consumers expect social tools for their research
experience, engaging mostly with the basics
4 Consumers seek a variety of voices throughout
the research experience
5 Facebook is the social platform for
researching/shopping
pg. 11
1
Control rests with consumers
pg. 12
Online research puts the consumer in
control of the research experience
Year-over-year the percentage of overall shopping that involves researching products
online remains strong as currently 50% say it is a factor at least half the time.
pg. 13
Most consumers satisfied with available info
82% report being somewhat to very satisfied with information when researching online
pg. 14
Personal research drives confidence
83% are somewhat to much more confident about making a purchase decision when
they conduct their own research online vs. speaking to a salesperson in-store
pg. 15
And saves significant time
79% report saving somewhat to much more time doing their
own research online compared to more traditional in-store research
pg. 16
Most shoppers spend a significant
amount of time researching
The time spent researching depends on shopper personality types but the majority (60%) report
spending a week or more researching an information intensive product prior to purchase.
pg. 17
2
Research starts with search, but
happens on brand/retailer sites
pg. 18
Search continues to be the starting point for
4
research;
social media not top of mind
A majority of shoppers (57%) begin research with a search engine;
yet one-fifth choose either the brand’s site or a retailer.
pg. 19
Search is a conduit; research takes place on
brand and retail sites
Past search, retailer and brand sites were named as the top
places where shoppers will typically research products online.
pg. 20
3
Consumers expect social tools
pg. 21
The basics continue to be important
Consumers expect social tools in the online shopping process, engaging mostly with the basics.
pg. 22
Consumers are more engaged with
the #1 social tool, reviews
Compared to 2007, shoppers are reading more customer reviews to be confident judging
a product with people reading 8 or more up 77% over 2007 and 16 or more up 140%.
pg. 23
Consumers are taking more time to research
Compared to 2007, shoppers are taking more time with people spending 10 minutes or
more up 28% over 2007 and people spending a half hour or more up 83%.
pg. 24
Consumers demand a more comprehensive
and credible review experience
pg. 25
4
Consumers seek a variety of voices
pg. 26
Friends and likeminded consumers
are more influential than experts
pg. 27
Consumers trust reviews to corroborate
other research/voices
pg. 28
Traditional ecommerce merchandising & customer
service also serve as a voice to validate research
How important is having the following capabilities on a retailer’s website when it comes to
selecting and ultimately purchasing a product? Rate each capability 1-5
with “1” being the most important and “5” not at all important.
(Charted: "Top 2" very to ext
Customer reviews and ratings on products
72%
Customer service information
69%
Category buying guides and expert opinions
64%
Top-rated products list, as rated by customers
60%
Customer supplied photos of the product being used
39%
Top-selling products list, created by retailer
36%
Merchant supplied videos of the product
Customer supplied videos of product
"As Seen On" product
34%
24%
21%
Blogs
20%
Sharing tools
20%
pg. 29
5
Facebook is the social platform for
researching/shopping
pg. 30
After basic social shopping tools, Facebook features
show the most potential to inform buying behavior
4
pg. 31
The driver of Facebook relevance in
social shopping is the “friend” voice
50 or fewer friends
34%
pg. 32
Facebook provides an opportunity
for frequent social engagement
pg. 33
The e-tailing group checklist for facilitating trust
 Think “trust” and the influence of all
merchandising and marketing programs on
how consumers will react and respond
 Ensure your site is a destination that serves the
information hungry shopper well
 Present a product page complete with strong
descriptions, in-depth user-generated content,
rich media and recommended products
 Nurture user-generated content and present
the whole picture to garner the greatest trust
among your customer base
 Monitor and embrace social media in order to
understand customer behavior that sets the
stage for future selling efforts
pg. 34
Social Commerce Success Plan
Developing your social commerce strategy
pg. 35
1. Build the foundation for trust
1. Initiate the conversation,
focusing on the fundamentals:
1.
2.
Customer reviews
Q&A
2. Eliminate factors that degrade
trust:
1. Focus on content volume
2. Present balanced perspectives
3. Identify verified users
3. Minimize the friction between
engaging with content and
purchasing a product
pg. 36
2. Make content easy to find and consume
Findable through SEO
Easy to consume
pg. 37
3. Accelerate trust through
the collective voice
Facebook “Friends”
Brand “Experts”
“People Like Me”
Staff “Experts”
Community “Experts”
pg. 38
PowerReviews Social Commerce Suite
Foundation
Findability
Collective Voice
Focus on the #1 tools with
the greatest impact on
buying behavior
Make it easy for shoppers
to find and quickly
navigate your content
Give researchers access
to all of the voices they
trust in one place
Retail Site
Customer Reviews + Q &A
In-Line SEO + Review Display 2.0
• Drives the highest level of
community generated content
• Leverage customer voice and
long tail keywords by making
social content searchable
• People like you integrated
into review collection process
and display
• Quickly summarize and add
credibility to content with Review
Snapshot & Review Faceoff
People like you + Facebook
Like Button + Brandshare
• Turnkey integration of 3 most
influential voices into your site
• Automatically display content
from likeminded users, friends,
and brand experts
pg. 39
What’s next?
“Social commerce”
becomes “Open commerce.”
User content invigorates the
entire organization.
pg. 40
Q&A
pg. 41
Thanks for coming.
To request a demo/social commerce consultation:
– webinar@powerreviews.com
To contact your speakers directly:
– Lauren: lf@e-tailing.com
– Pehr: pehr@powerreviews.com
To download a copy of this webinar, visit:
– http://powerreviews.com/5trends
Also, don’t forget to come see us at IRCE in June!
Booth #628
pg. 42
(blank slide)
Confidential, p. 43