Social Shopping

Social shopping 101: basics, concepts and why this trend is here to stay

You must have heard all the buzz surrounding social shopping. If you are wondering what this is and what it has to do with social media then read on to know more!

What is social shopping?

Social shopping essentially combines all the primary elements of social media tools like forums, discussion groups, blogs, reviews, voting etc. and targets it onto the most popular activity of the web – shopping of course! There are many online social media sites that focus on this concept of social shopping. These social networking media sites have reviews posted by users, comparisons on prices of popular products etc. So basically through such sites shoppers get a fair idea on which products are doing well in the market and which need improvement. Based on this information on such social media service sites users can make more informed choices on what products to buy and from which brands. Thus, if you have an ecommerce website and are dabbling with the idea of starting a social media campaign or even a set of social media sites then you surely need to be familiar with the concept of social shopping and leverage it to your advantage.

The customer decides your popularity

Gone are the days when one website used to have a monopoly over market share. Today is the age of web 2.0 technology, where customer is king and websites fade into oblivion by the minute! Social media analysis gives websites a upper hand in that using social media tools they get to influence customer mindsets and purchasing decisions. Most of the top social media sites have capitalized on this concept and are making headway into luring Fortune 500 companies into the sphere of social media networking. Through discussions and reviews and interactive social media customers get to influence each others’ purchasing decisions.

Umbrella sites

The great thing about social shopping is that most of the items to shop for are all found in one comprehensive social media business site. That means, shoppers no longer have to browse through various social media sites in order to find the item of choice. Instead all the items are listed on the umbrella social media networks site. This is a tremendous advantage over conventional web shopping where most of one’s time is spent in surfing and searching for products. Sometimes, if a product is particularly tough to locate, it can hamper the shopping experience. In such cases, social media business sites that focus on the concept of social shopping make even tough to find products available on their site!

Comparison shopping – a new trend!

Comparison shopping is all about comparing different products from various brands all under one social media business site! Also, since customers post reviews and opinions first hand it is perfect to help other customers in making informed decisions. You can compare products based on price, features, customer service levels and many more. It is amazing how many people actually make their purchase decisions after visiting such social media sites. So, if you too want to rev up your revenues it is time you turned to the emerging trend of social shopping!