56% of Consumers Say Facebook Influences Purchase Decisions
According to data from Compete, 55.8 percent of Facebook users say their purchase decisions have been influenced by Facebook pages, while 66.1 percent of Twitter users say their purchase decisions have been influenced by Twitter feeds.
Compete also found that 56.2 percent of consumers visit a retailer’s Facebook page to keep up to date on sales and promotions. Meanwhile, 29.0 percent visit a retailer’s Facebook page to learn more about a specific retailer, 26.4 percent do so because they appear in their news feeds because a friend liked it, 13.7 percent do so to let others know why they like a specific retailer, and 13.6 percent do so to connect with other people who like the retailer.
The company also notes that 6.6 percent of respondents visit official Facebook pages of retail and/or consumer product companies daily, while 11.0 percent do so weekly and 8.9 percent do so monthly. Meanwhile, 23.1 percent of consumers visit these pages less than once a month, 27.8 percent never visit these pages and 22.4 percent aren’t members of Facebook.
For Twitter, 58.7 percent of consumers read Twitter feeds from retailers and/or consumer product companies to keep up to date on sales and promotions. Meanwhile, 32.9 percent do so to learn more about a specific retailer, 24.1 percent do so to let others know why they like a specific retailer, and 23.2 percent do so to connect with other people who like the retailer.
Compete notes that 10 percent of respondents read Twitter feeds from retailers and/or consumer product companies at least once a month in spring 2011. This number was 11 percent in spring 2010.
Seventeen percent of respondents don’t follow any retailers/consumer products on Twitter, while 13 percent follow one, 14 percent follow two, 10 percent follow three, 13 percent follow four and 9 percent follow five.
Twelve percent follow 6-10 retailers/consumer products on Twitter, 5 percent follow 11-30 and 6 percent follow more than 30, according to Compete.
According to Compete, Facebook pages are a great low-cost marketing tool used primarily to deliver information where consumers are spending time and to develop deeper relationships with consumers.
While short-term awareness is a clear benefit, long-term ROI is uncertain.
“Savvy retailers are now making Facebook pages part of an integrated online shopping experience, and we expect this model will take the industry by storm in the coming months,” said Debra Arbesman, senior associate of retail and consumer products at Compete.
Sources:
http://www.slideshare.net/compete/the-compete-online-retail-2011-q1-review
http://www.marketingcharts.com/direct/2-in-3-users-say-twitter-influences-purchases-18074/
