Tag: social media mobile

Social media trends are leading to new opportunities in mobile commerce

| July 29, 2015

Appearance anxiety is changing the way people shop online

Appearance anxiety is having an effect on the way people, particularly young women, shop. Social media has become overwhelmingly popular among Millennials, many of whom enjoy sharing pictures of themselves online. This is beginning to change the way young women shop online, however, especially when it comes to fashion. Many Millennials are becoming concerned that they will look too stale if they have a limited wardrobe. Appearing in multiple pictures wearing the same or similar clothing as others is leading to an increase in shopping.

Millennials are becoming more interested in shopping due to what they see on social media platforms

This is called the “Instagram effect” and it may be good news for retailers. Because Millennials are feeling more pressure to diversify their fashion, they are beginning to shop more frequently, especially online. For retailers involved in mobile commerce, this trend could lead to new opportunities in the social media space. Many retailers are beginning to use social networks to try and sell products. This is often referred to as “social commerce” and it could have a major impact on the way retailers connect with consumers in the future.

Retailers may need to focus more on engaging the mobile commerce space

Social Media - Mobile CommerceThere is a risk in this, however, as retailers may give up more of their marketing and promotional capabilities to social media platforms. These platforms are beginning to play a larger role in the mobile commerce space, with several platforms introducing “buy buttons” that make it easier for consumers to purchase products online from their mobile devices. As Millennials become more influenced by what they see on social media sites, these buy buttons are gaining more popularity.

Retailers and social media companies will have to work together

Mobile commerce is well on its way to becoming a mainstream success with significant economical influence. As social media platforms begin to play a larger role in this space, retailers will have to become more conscious of how emerging trends are affecting the shopping behavior of consumers. They will also have to find a way to work effectively with social media companies in order to engage consumers.

Social media behavior tracked in new study

| April 8, 2013

social media studySocial media study sheds some light on the interests of consumers

Digital agency iAcquire recently partnered with SurveyMonkey, a market research firm, in order to shed some light on how people use social media. Years ago, as consumer electronics first began growing more popular, there were concerns that technology would lead to the society’s isolation from itself; people becoming more enthralled by technology and less integrated into their communities and society as a whole. The advent of mobile technology appears to have put those concerns to rest, as smartphones and tablets have enabled people to stay in constant contact with one another no matter where they are or what they are doing. Social media plays a major role in this constant connection.

Social media engagement increased 30 billion minutes between 2011 and 2012

According to a new study produced by iAcquire and SurveyMonkey, the time consumers spend engaged in social media has increased by 30 billion minutes from 2011 to 2012. The two firms have studied the way people use social media, tracking what they share, how they share, and what they search for. The firms also took note of age demographics and which of these demographics favored particular social networking sites.

Older consumers are more connected to social networks

According to the study, those between the ages of 18 and 29 favor Orkut, a social media site operated by Google. Reddit, DeviantArt, and Github follow closely behind. For those older than 30, LinkedIn, Pinterest, and Twitter are the most favored social networks. Facebook is not strictly preferred by either demographic, but is still used regularly. The study shows that social media is most prolific among those over the age of 30 and that the majority of all social media users, across all ages, do not use Facebook search or the search functions of other social networking sites.

Facebook begins slipping

The study shows that Facebook is beginning to lose traction with social media users, with its time engagement falling 4% between 2011 and 2012. During the same time, engagement in Google+ rose by 80% and engagement in Pinterest rose a staggering 1,000%. Social media behavior is expected to continue evolving, especially as social networks begin to focus more heavily on the mobile space as a way to engage a new generation of consumer.