Consumers cool on social networks for online shopping: new study
New research has found that consumers do not trust or use social networking sites when it comes to e-commerce.
The “E-commerce: Trust in Online Transactions” report by YouGov shows that 55% of online shoppers surveyed said that a store with a presence on a social networking site made them trust the retailer less, while 27% said it increased their level of trust.
YouGov found that there was only a marginal increase in trust levels among Facebook and Twitter users towards retailers on social networks. While 55% of Facebook users polled said a presence on a social networking site led them to trust the retailer less, only 33% said it helped them trust it more. The numbers were similar among Twitter users with 52% saying it reduced their trust in an outlet and 37% saying it increased it.
The report reveals that many e-consumers segregate their online shopping and social habits. Almost four in ten of people polled said they liked to keep their social media and shopping activity separate, with around 42% saying they believed that networks such as Facebook and Twitter were for friends, not retail. YouGov also found limited support for logging into social networks to shop, with just one in seven believing it was easier to sign into retail sites without having to put in their details again.
Never Miss a Retail Update!YouGov said that 16 to 24 year old shoppers were the most keen to keep their social networking activity separate from their shopping activity. More than half (57%) said they did not like sites such as Twitter and Facebook being linked with their purchasing history and three in five expressed a preference for keeping their social networking and online shopping activity separate.
YouGov’s report also shows that online shoppers were more likely to turn to TV adverts or newspapers and magazines than social networking sites to research products. However, the majority of people polled said they preferred to conduct their research by consulting consumer reviews on a retailer’s own site or on shopping comparison sites and third party sites.
James McCoy, research director at YouGov, said: “The rise of social networks over the past decade has coincided with the growth of online shopping and many retailers have tried to harness the power of sites such as Facebook to increase sales. However, it appears that consumers prefer to keep their shopping and social sites separate, with online consumers not trusting retailers that are on the likes of Twitter.
“What is worse for retailers is that younger, more social media savvy consumers are the ones who have the greatest objections to using their Facebook and Twitter accounts for shopping. This is something they will need to address if they are to effectively deploy online marketing budgets.”
