That’s pretty great for customers. But it’s also a huge opportunity for your brand. The average social media user spends 2 hours and 23 minutes a day on social platforms — that accounts for over a third of every minute spent on the internet. Because you now have the chance to engage with your audience in a more meaningful, direct way, you can turn literally every one of those minutes into a potential moment of conversion. 

Chapters:

1. Why does social shopping matter for brands
2. How brands in different industries win with social shopping
3. Access the full benefits of social shopping

Why does social shopping matter for brands

Social shopping addresses a shopper pain point by making it easier for people to connect with what they want to buy. Where social commerce focuses more on selling, social shopping focuses on research and purchases, and improving the whole shopping experience.

Our Shopper Experience Index, an annual report into consumer behavior, tells us that there’s no more debate about the importance of social media and shoppable content. Here’s why:

• Social media is the new search engine. Across the board, 58% of people are discovering products on social platforms. And before hitting the ‘buy’ button, 50% of shoppers are digging deeper, using social media to research their finds
• Young adults are leading the charge. Nearly three quarters (73%) of 18 to 24-year-olds find their next purchase through social media. It’s their mall, their catalog, and their wishlist, all rolled into one
• Buying is the new liking. With 50% of consumers making purchases directly through social media in the past year, the “double tap” has taken on a whole new meaning
• Voice of the customer is key. 78% of consumers feel more confident in a purchase when they view shopper content — that includes creator-, influencer-, and user-generated content

In short, social shopping allows you to meet your customers where they are and where they increasingly prefer to find, research, and buy products. 

How brands in different industries win with social shopping

At Bazaarvoice, we have the pleasure of working with brands across every industry under the sun. We’ve helped beauty, CPG, and hardware companies tap into the magic of social shopping and user-generated content (UGC), lift conversion rates, and increase average order value.

We learned a lot from helping our customers. Here, we distill the most important lessons and fascinating case studies to help you.

Health & beauty

The health and beauty industry thrives on visual appeal. Social media platforms are the perfect stage for brands that fall into these categories. They can showcase their products in action, with vibrant images and videos that do more than sell — they tell a story. 

UGC plays a starring role here. Rich visual content from customers offers authentic glimpses into real-life results and applications (e.g. is the eyeshadow patchy? Does this foundation look good on a complexion like mine? Is this shampoo the key to becoming the star of the live-action Tangled remake?). 

This authenticity is key in an industry where trust and transparency are as important as the products themselves. And if people like what they see, shoppable posts make it easy to click and buy on the spot, turning inspiration into action in mere seconds.

The Body Shop

The Body Shop, a decades-long player in the beauty industry, wanted to enhance its online customer experience. In the words of Indar Chanicka, the brand’s Vice President of E-Commerce, “we set out to fully utilize our social content to drive engagement and use it as a tool to educate customers through their purchasing decisions. We want customers to (…) see the actual products and their benefits through the experiences of real customers.”

To accomplish this goal, The Body Shop integrated social media UGC directly onto product pages. The results? A 28% conversion rate on product pages and a 13% increase in average order value. 

Iconic London

Iconic London is a shining example of how brands can bridge the gap between social media inspiration and e-commerce action. First, they recognized the disjointed experience between social platforms and their website. Then, they set out to create a seamless journey that maintained the authenticity and engagement of social media while guiding customers smoothly to the checkout page. 

Iconic London implemented Like2Buy, a tool that turns your Instagram pictures and videos into informative, directional, or shoppable posts. This approach allows customers to transition from social media to the website without feeling disconnected. 

By coupling UGC, Instagram, and Like2Buy, Iconic London was able to increase conversion rates by 126% and lift average order value by 11% in just 12 months. 

Apparel & accessories

Trying on clothes is a pretty important part of the shopping experience. How else will you know if that pair of jeans fits just right? In the context of e-commerce, apparel and accessories brands have found a savvy way to bring the fitting room to their audience, right through their screens. 

Social media brings fashion shows to every feed. Each scroll is an opportunity to show off the latest and greatest trends, pieces, and styles in action. 

Once again, UGC proves to be a valuable ally. Just like with beauty products, it offers a front-row seat to real-life product demos. Authentic, diverse, and oh-so compelling, this type of content turns everyday customers into the stars of your show, modeling the clothes in their own unique styles and settings. 

Isabella Oliver and Baukjen

Isabella Oliver and Baukjen acknowledge the value of showing their clothes on different bodies. The brand embraces visual UGC to enrich the virtual try-on experience and make online shopping feel as personal and engaging as visiting a store.

Their strategy is simple yet impactful: a monthly hashtag contest encourages customers to share their #BaukjenStyle, turning the competition into a curated display of real-world fashion. 

Bazaarvoice Galleries then takes these snippets and places them on product pages to create a digital window display that’s both beautiful and relatable. The feedback speaks for itself, with customers expressing newfound confidence in their purchases, inspired by seeing the clothes on bodies just like theirs. This confidence translates into tangible results: a 120% increase in conversion rates and a 10% lift in average order value.

We love Isabella Oliver and Baukjen’s approach because it proves that, in the online fashion world, the best way to know if those jeans fit just right is by seeing them in action.

Home improvement

In the home improvement sphere, the phenomenon of social shopping introduces a dynamic where the aspirational is instantly attainable. Instead of just sources of décor ideas, platforms like Instagram and Pinterest become marketplaces where inspiration seamlessly leads to transactions. 

And with a little help from UGC, facilitating this transition becomes easier. Shoppers don’t have to hesitate before buying because they don’t know whether that chaise longue would look good in their homes. You already have a library of relatable content showing them it will.

Dreams

Dreams took their success to new heights with UGC. The brand spotlights their bed frames, sofa beds, and furniture through the lens of real customers’ homes. The #mydreamsbed social media campaign (sensing a #theme here?) showcases customer-inspired bedrooms but also serves as a testament to the power of community in shaping brand perception. 

With high-quality, scroll-stopping images populating their homepage, Dreams has created an engaging first impression that draws customers deeper into their product range. Their strategic use of UGC has led to a 200% increase in conversion rate and a 62% rise in average order value. 

But perhaps more interesting is how the influx of customer photos has informed Dreams’ own creative direction. Octavia Benham, Dreams’ Head of E-commerce, explains how UGC inspires the team and helps them craft their own content. ”Previously, our own product images didn’t look very lived in, but we changed that based on the UGC content we were getting,” she says.

Consumer electronics

Let’s face it: the more expensive the purchase, the more we rely on other people’s opinions and the longer we consider handing over our money. Such is often the case for consumer electronics, where the price tags tend to be heftier and purchases less frequent.

Given social media’s role as the hottest rising star in consumer research and purchase, there’s an opportunity for brands in this industry to share social proof and nudge people towards purchasing in one fell swoop.

Midland Radio

Midland Radio, a leader in two-way communication devices, recognized the untapped potential of showcasing UGC to enhance their digital presence and boost customer engagement. The brand successfully curated UGC from Instagram, Facebook, and other social channels to enrich their site’s content and make it more relatable.

The results speak volumes: a 143% increase in conversion rate and a 27% increase in average order value. But Midland Radio’s approach didn’t stop with collecting and displaying UGC. With tools like Reveal, Showroom, and Like2Buy, they also enhanced their Instagram strategy, making it easier for followers to transition from browsing to buying. 

Food & beverage

Being able to taste a product on social might be a little ways down the road. Thankfully, humans have other senses that food and beverage brands can appeal to. When done right, visuals can almost convey flavors, aromas, and textures (drink if you’ve never “eaten” with your eyes!) 

Social media is the perfect place for storytelling. Food and beverage brands can get creative with their shoppable posts by sharing recipes that feature their products or partnering with food influencers and UGC creators who show the goods in action (yes, this does include eating said goods. There’s a reason mukbangs are still a popular type of content — some people just enjoy seeing other people eat. It is what it is).

T2 Tea

T2 chose to stir up their social shopping strategy with UGC and shoppable posts. They partnered with Bazaarvoice to amplify brand presence and cultivate a digital environment that mirrors the communal and sensory nature of enjoying a steaming cup of tea. 

“Our aim is to create a community of tea lovers,” said Sally Lennox, Head of Digital at T2. “UGC is a way for us to embrace our customers by hearing their unique perspectives and displaying that word-of-mouth content on our digital screens. It provides such powerful social proof when customers can see that others are loving our products.”

T2 celebrates its fans by capturing and posting social media UGC on its home and product pages with Bazaarvoice Galleries. The brand also implemented Like2Buy and shoppable posts on Instagram so browsers can immediately access the products that catch their eye.

Consumer packaged goods

The landscape of consumer packaged goods (CPG) is a competitive one, with direct-to-consumer (DTC) companies increasingly taking over a share of the market. Building trust and signaling safety is thus becoming more and more essential. 

Many CPG brands are turning to social media to push educational content highlighting how real people use their products to make their lives better/easier/more fabulous. And if there’s a direct path to purchase right there in the posts? That’s the cherry on top.

MAM

Understanding the concerns and desires of parents who want the best for their little ones, MAM UK harnessed the power of social proof. So the brand leveraged real-life experiences and endorsements from satisfied parents to reassure potential customers. 

To amplify their UGC strategy, MAM implemented social commerce solutions, effectively completing their full-funnel marketing approach. Bazaarvoice Galleries allowed MAM to curate and display authentic social photos and videos from advocates, creating beautiful product galleries on their website. 

The strategy made their products more relatable, which translated into engagement and profit — more precisely, a 258% increase in time on site, a 108% increase in conversions, and a 58% increase in average order value. 

Access the full benefits of social shopping

Social shopping isn’t a fad — it’s the new normal. And if you have the right tools and the right partners, there’s no reason why you won’t be able to adapt and thrive. 

Dive into the world of social shopping with the ultimate guide to social media conversion for more actionable tips on how to create captivating shopping experiences that impact your bottom line.

FEATURED RESOURCE

How to define and measure social commerce ROI and value

Read here

Growth of online shopping

Each year, online shopping continues to grow as consumers avoid the in-store crowds and take advantage of free shipping. During this holiday season, shoppers planned to spend an equal amount online vs in store, according to a Deloitte holiday shopping survey. We also expected at least 39% of in-store buyers to be researching and reading reviews online before their purchase. Even when buying gifts for others and trying to find the best deal, consumers want to make wise purchasing decisions and research the products beforehand.

2016: The year of mobile?

For several years now, it seems like we’ve been talking about mobile shopping finally overcoming desktop. This year, we might just be there. On Black Friday, 48% of product page views came from a mobile device — a 10% increase from 38% in 2015. On Cyber Monday, 42% of product page views came from a mobile device — an 8% increase from 34% in 2015. More importantly, mobile devices accounted for 41% of Black Friday sales and 33% of Cyber Monday sales in the US.

The Bazaarvoice data mine

From Thanksgiving Day to Cyber Monday 2016, the Bazaarvoice Network saw a total of 32 million orders and 4.4 billion dollars in online sales in the United States. Black Friday made up 7.2 million orders and over 1 billion dollars, while Cyber Monday accounted for 10.4 million orders and another 1.3 billion dollars.

As a data analyst, I love getting the sneak peak in to the holiday season and seeing the shopping behavior and purchase data roll in. Bazaarvoice analytics has a huge data mine and a great look in to the consumer decision journey. We can ask questions like what products and brands are consumers researching? How long have they been in the market? Have they made a purchase yet?  All of this data can enable brands and retailers to better reach their shoppers at a critical point in this decision-making process.

Here’s a sampling of that data we saw in the Bazaarvoice Network over these key holiday shopping days:

Hot products

In addition to the insights above, I have an insider look at product trends from the holiday shopping weekend. Some of the most in-demand products this year included:

• Nintendo – Entertainment System: Nes Classic Edition
• Toshiba – 49 Class (48.5 Diag.) – Led – 2160p – With Chromecast Built-in – 4k Ultra Hd Tv – Black
• Apple® iPad Air 2 Wi-Fi
• Dell – Inspiron 15.6 Touch-screen Laptop – Intel Core I5 – 8gb Memory – 1tb Hard Drive – Black
• Hatchimals Hatching Egg Bearakeet by Spin Master – Pink/Black
• iPhone® 7
• Bose® – Soundsport® In-ear Headphones – Charcoal (Grey)
• Holiday Cards
• The Big One® Super Soft Plush Throw
• Jordan Retro 3 – Men’s

Shoppers are looking for consumer electronics deals, as well as the hottest toy and apparel products. This year, it looks like the Hatchimals is going to be the next Tickle Me Elmo. Will it make the top product list next year or go the way of the Furby as yet another short-lived fad?

New releases

Some retail brands are strategically releasing their new products around the holiday week. The Nintendo Classic Edition Console was released on Nov 11, 2016. The Adidas x BAPE NMD Camouflage shoes (released Nov 26, 2016) saw over 1.3M page views during this past holiday weekend and has already sold out at Adidas.

Early start

Traditionally, Thanksgiving is a time spent with family, turkey, and pie. Soon after dinner at around 8PM, we set aside our plates for our phones and computers to monitor the Black Friday sales. We get some tryptophan-fueled sleep, and at 9am on Black Friday, we are online shopping and researching products for the big shopping day ahead. With Cyber Monday, we go to work, check some email, and are back to online shopping at 10am. These are the most heavily trafficked hours for these vital holiday shopping days.

This past holiday weekend, the Bazaarvoice Network saw year-over-year growth. However, Black Friday is no longer the biggest shopping day of the year, leading us to believe that consumers spread out their shopping across November and December. I suspect we will see even more shoppers wait until the week before Christmas to do the bulk of their holiday shopping, so we’re in for a long haul.

A flash sale on a TV isn’t the only thing of value that brands and retailers can provide their customers during the holidays. Our data shows that authentic consumer-generated content (CGC) like ratings, reviews, questions & answers, photos, and videos matter when making a purchasing decision. Shoppers are able to make more informed decisions on what product is best for them, and companies benefit with positive ROI in the form of conversion, revenue, and average order value, plus better SEO and valuable product insights.

Using technology to create integrated experiences

“Retailers must balance shopping tools with consumer content. You can tech consumers to death but if you don’t give them the info they want, it doesn’t matter.” — John White, COO of Fossil Group.

Consumers are being given more and more freedom to express themselves and interact with retailers in new ways. Of smartphone users, 82% consult their phones while they’re standing in a store deciding which product to buy. One in 10 of those ends up buying a different product than they had planned. (Google MicroMoments) During the conference this year, The North Face provided a demo of a beta product they have created in partnership with IBM Watson. Available on both desktop and mobile, The North Face allows users to select products by answering a series of prompts that drive them through the product search funnel in a way previously not experienced by consumers. By answering questions like, “Where are you going?” and “What activities will this be used for?” the IBM Watson-driven engine provides product suggestions based on the consumer’s answers. This is the first application of the artificial intelligence engine applied to the shopping experience and could be a great opportunity for integration with consumer-generated content.

The North Face isn’t the only brand making strides in retail technology. Under Armour (UA) CEO, Kevin Plank spoke of the company’s new Connected Fitness suite of apps and its role in better understanding their consumer. Using this technology, Under Armour is able to track the training behaviors, gear usage, and overall health of their user base. With this information, UA is building a product recommendation engine within their app, as well as building the capability to predict fitness trends. Under Armour plans to use this information to make inventory management decisions, product changes, and who knows what else – with technology, the sky is truly the limit. This is a great example of how technology is being used to enhance the consumer experience without interrupting the buyer.

Rethinking marketing measurement and ROI

Historically, marketing organizations have focused the majority of their efforts in the lower funnel since it’s easier to measure the impact of those early-on interactions. According to a study by Adobe, “93% if CMOs say they are under more pressure to deliver measurable ROI, and 81% of marketers would increase spending on digital, mobile, and social channels if they could better track ROI.” And while being ROI-driven is a good thing, it shouldn’t come at the expense of ignoring other crucial pieces of the consumer journey. Retailers are beginning to implement the proper metrics to measure success higher in the funnel and are coming to the realization that it’s not all about conversion. Retailers must reshape the way they engage with customers and measure effectiveness of marketing dollars. For example, with consumer-generated content online conversion is a big component of ROI, but retailers must also consider the offline sales, increased effectiveness of their marketing, reduced returns, and even repeat visits when submitting content.

Google presented a Consumer Intent Framework that outlined one way to approach this and the tactics for each phase. In the framework shown below, there are three keys to successful implementation.

• Define the objective of each marketing tactic. Don’t default to thinking that everything will directly drive a sale.

• Align the measurement for each tactic to the objective you are trying to achieve. Don’t judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree.

• Identify the influencers and stakeholders in your organization and get their buy-in on the measurement plan before you start.

AT&T has done a great job bringing Google’s mode of thinking into their organization – see how they are engaging with Millenials at the “Think” point in the funnel.

The use of data in decision-making

In 2016, retailers are in what is referred to as the “Diagnostic Period of Analytics” and beginning to move into predictive and prescriptive capabilities. Ultimately, the goal is to move into preemptive analytics where we will know what consumers need before they even begin to shop. This information and capability apply not only to the customer but also to product creation and inventory management.

These increased data capabilities, combined with changing consumer expectations, are pushing retailers to redefine the role and the value of “the store” in the shopping experience. As such, retailers are working to build a larger digital presence through partnerships with technology companies. Intel announced a new platform that allows retailers to pull new data sources from mobile, RFID, wearables, and social and integrate them with traditional data sources to glean insights into buyer behavior. This is enabling retailers to delight customers with personalized and targeted offers based on buyer history and behaviors in real-time.

Industry analysts predict that by 2020 we will be in a post-omnichannel world. Everything will be data-driven, with brand affinity and consumer trust being the top KPIs. Decisions that were historically made from the lens of experience and intuition will now only be made through the use of data analytics and behaviors of the buyer in the store.

Though we’re starting to see progress, especially with brands like those at NRF leading the way, there’s still a ways to go before we truly create the kind of retail environment consumers expect. It’ll take the commitment from the industry as a whole and a willingness for brands to take big leaps. As a brand, don’t be afraid to try new things in your online or in-store experience – you never know what will move the needle in the eyes of your consumer. Perhaps those big steps may result in your company representing the next level of innovation at NRF 2017.

Nintendo Wii

I play video games. If I am being honest, though, I should say I play a ton of video games. Naturally, I was so elated when Sony unveiled their new video game console last year, the Playstation 4, I bought it the day it was released. I was just as excited when the Nintendo Wii came out a few years ago. However, the Wii and the Playstation 4 had one significant difference: the Wii was not available in any of my local retail stores. In fact, the Wii was so hard to find once it was back in stock, it immediately sold out. How was Nintendo making millions on the Wii when it was never in stock?

Most people attribute the success of the Wii to its popularity among non-traditional video game players. Historically, video games were only popular among a small segment of the population and the Wii broke through this barrier, becoming wildly popular among non-traditional video gamers.

Nintendo changed that with the Wii, as it brought a completely new approach to how people interacted with video games with a new, small remote. This new remote required players to physically move around, getting them off the couch and including physically activity for the first time. The idea seems very simple in hindsight, but this was revolutionary during the mid 2000’s. This made the Wii popular with many demographic groups: older non-gamers, parents who wanted their children to play active games, the elderly, and preschool aged children. All typically non-traditional video game purchasers.

The Wii was so popular that people would wait in line for hours to buy it months after being on sale—mainly because it was so hard to find in stores. For months, you could not walk into a store to purchase a Wii, so if one was spotted, people bought it immediately. Selling over 101.06 million consoles worldwide, there is no denying the massive success of the Nintendo Wii. It was years later when I heard the story of how this scarcity was actually a marketing strategy to create demand for the console. Now, I received this information from some enthusiastic video game conspiracy theorists. However, this notion got me thinking: would a company intentionally hold back inventory of an item to generate artificial scarcity?

Blue Ocean Strategy

My conspiracy theorist friends pointed me to a business philosophy called Blue Ocean Strategy. W. Chan Kim and Renée Mauborgne, Professors at INSEAD and Co-Directors of the INSEAD Institute, developed this theory. The basic idea of Blue Ocean Strategy is there are red and blue oceans. Red oceans represent all the industries or markets in existence today. The blue oceans represent the all the industries not in existence today-the unknown markets, untainted by any competition. Instead of battling the competition in a given market, they propose to create new markets where there is no competition.

According to Kim & Mauborgne, “In blue oceans, demand is created rather than fought over.” There are two ways to create blue ocean: one is to develop a completely new market.

The way eBay essentially created the online auction industry. The other is to create a blue ocean within a red ocean. You do this by changing the boundaries of an existing market to cover a much different audience than was previously covered. Video games historically are marketed to adolescent males. Nintendo created a blue ocean within the video game market by expanding their targeting to families, parents, the elderly, and others. By challenging the traditional notions of “the video game customer,” Nintendo was able to create a completely new market for video games, which still exists today.

According to Kim & Mauborgne, “To capture new demand companies need to focus on the demand side of the equation and redefine the problem itself. There are far more non-customers than customers.”

Manufactured scarcity

My conspiracy theorist friends claim that Nintendo intentionally restricted the amount of Wiis’ in the market to create an artificial demand for the new console. This is pure speculation, but it does beg the question: Did Nintendo benefit from the shortage of the Wiis available to consumers? Regardless if it was intentional, the hype around the Wii’s scarcity helped sales.

Let us skip ahead to 2013. I am standing in line with my PS4 because it was not in stock on my regular eCommerce website. Sony was not able to keep up with the online demand for their new console. This scarcity was genuine, or at least I perceived it to be genuine due to the products’ availability in-store. This was not a new experience for me. Half the time I am shopping online and I come across this phrase, “Only 1 left in stock.” Marketers have been using scarcity for decades to drive up their sales. Supply and demand, right?

Scarcity creates an urgency among consumers to purchase while they still have a chance. The fear of missing out is a very powerful emotion. There are two common techniques to create scarcity in sales: limit the quantity of an item, i.e. “only 1 left in stock.” The second is to limit the time an item or promotion is available. “This deal will only be available for the next 20 minutes, call now!” These types of sales force people to act quickly if they want to get a certain item or deal.

Act now while supplies last!

One of Bazaarvoice’s core values is authenticity. Authenticity is something we champion in the marketplace: authenticity of content, authenticity of brand, authenticity of principles. Practicing true customer centricity means focusing on the customer experience and ensuring their needs are met, as well as those of the business. Creating an artificial demand for products to stimulate a shopper into making a purchase is not a positive experience. It is not authentic.

Scarcity creates pressure on consumers, even fear or stress to buy a product. Yet, I still see it all the time. If product scarcity is natural then it is acceptable for websites to display these messages. This is actually doing a service to shoppers who may genuinely miss a product they want. However, scarcity as a sales tactic is not an appropriate strategy. Retailers should not have to rely on artificial scarcity to sell products. This flies in the face of customer centricity and is not fair to shoppers.