5 Social Shopping Trends Shaping the Future of Ecommerce. May 26, 2010

Transcription

1 5 Social Shopping Trends Shaping the Future of Ecommerce May 26, 2010

2 Lauren Freedman, President, the e-tailing group, Inc. Pehr Luedtke, CEO, PowerReviews, Inc. The Voice of Cross-Channel Merchandising 15 years ecommerce consulting Author, It s Just Shopping 50+ years traditional retail and catalog experience Fortune 500 client projects ranging from strategic planning, merchandising, marketing, to technology development and messaging Proprietary research studies on mystery shopping, merchandising and consumer behavior The leader in social commerce, focusing exclusively on retail With over 1000 clients, the most widely deployed customer ratings platform in the world Most robust product offering Technology platform complemented by human support pg. 2

3 Webinar Agenda I. The e-tailing group Trend Tracker II. Why the consumer voice? Why now? III Social Shopping Study Results 5 Social Shopping Trends Shaping the Future of Ecommerce IV. Social Commerce Success Planner V. Q&A Session pg. 3

4 The e-tailing group Trend Tracker Social shopping from the merchant perspective pg. 4

5 The Merchant Adoption Curve Beyond the merchandising standards ratings/reviews occupy a prominent place on the product page while social and sharing tools quickly see escalated penetration Feature Product page Recommendation 98% 95% 96% Zoom 89% 90% 86% Alternate views 76% 68% 66% Ratings/ Reviews 74% 58% 50% Share 67% 28% N/A Color Change 64%* 60%* 57%* Link to Social Networking Site 60% N/A N/A Streaming Video 55% N/A N/A Product Demo Blog 36% 26% 10% Source: 2009 e-tailing group Mystery Shopping Survey pg. 5

6 Reviews ranked in top 1/3 of features; social via sharing gains prominence Keyword Search 98% Category Content 68% Limited Hour Promotions 50% Cross-sells 95% Video 68% Community Features 48% Seasonal Promotions 95% Alternate Payment Methods 66% Product Comparisons 46% Sales or Specials 94% Recently Viewed 64% Frequent Buyer Programs 46% as a Merchandising 94% Sharing via Social Networking 63% Live Chat 45% Top Sellers 88% Customer Service Alerts 62% Pre-Orders 43% What's New All 50 features in the survey in descending order as rated very to somewhat valuable (5-3) 87% Gift Center/Suggestions 61% Create Your Own Custom/Personalized Products Up-Sells 87% Gift Certificates/Cards 60% Mobile Applications (new) 41% Search Landing Pages that are 87% 59% 39% Merchandised Brand Showcase Deferred Payment Plans Collection Selling (Shop by 83% 59% 38% Alternative Views Online Outlet Outfit/by Solution/View in a Room) Coupons/Rebates 80% Multiple Ship-to's 57% As Advertised 38% Advanced Search 78% Color Change 56% Interactive Tools 35% Exclusives 77% Free Shipping - Conditional 55% 3D Visualization 28% Promotional Incentives to Buy 74% Free Shipping - Unconditional 55% Gift/Wedding Registry 26% Zoom 74% Contests 54% In-store Product Locator/Look-up 24% Guided Navigation 70% Wish Lists 53% In-store Pick-up and/or Returns 22% Product Ratings & Reviews 69% Blogs 52% 43% Source: 2009 e-tailing group Mystery Shopping Survey pg. 6

7 Many merchants are already employing social tools on their sites Which community and social media tools does your company employ today or plan to employ in the next 12 month? Community or Social Media Tool Employ today Plan to employ in the next 12 months Considering for future, beyond 1 year No plans to employ Facebook fan page 78% 13% 4% 5% Customer reviews 65% 20% 7% 8% Twitter publishing 64% 16% 9% 11% Blogs 45% 27% 10% 18% Facebook connect 41% 30% 9% 20% Social listening tools 33% 27% 16% 24% Viral videos 30% 19% 22% 29% Questions and answers 29% 22% 21% 28% Community forums 22% 14% 29% 35% Product suggestion box 16% 24% 20% 40% Today 78% employ Facebook fan pages, 65% use customer reviews,and 64% are publishing via Twitter Source: 2009 e-tailing group Mystery Shopping Survey pg. 7

8 Why the consumer voice? Why now? The information about products, categories and brands available online is growing exponentially With so much content available, consumers now have to edit in order to make the right shopping decisions for their needs Considerations relative to trust come into play as more social options exist for sharing and gathering information While the media fuels adoption of new technologies, customers will have the final say on which merchants and information they will ultimately trust pg. 8

9 5 Social Shopping Trends Shaping the Future of Ecommerce 2010 Social Shopping Study Results pg. 9

10 Survey Methodology In March 2010 PowerReviews and the e-tailing group fielded an online questionnaire to over 1,000 consumers (50% male/50% female) who shop online four or more times annually, spending over $250 via that channel. Survey Objectives Understand category-centric behavior relative to overall trust and online shopping Explore customer utilization of social media to assess perception, interest, and propensity to buy based on engagement with these newer tools Trend customer reviews and social shopping monitoring changing and evolving consumer behavior since the initial jointly sponsored survey in 2007 Assess merchant perception relative to consumer interest level in social media tools 10 pg. 10

11 5 Trends in Social Shopping Control rests with consumers Research starts with search, but happens on brand and retailer sites Consumers expect social tools for their research experience, engaging mostly with the basics Consumers seek a variety of voices throughout the research experience Facebook is the social platform for researching/shopping pg. 11

12 1 Control rests with consumers pg. 12

13 Online research puts the consumer in control of the research experience Year-over-year the percentage of overall shopping that involves researching products online remains strong as currently 50% say it is a factor at least half the time. pg. 13

14 Most consumers satisfied with available info 82% report being somewhat to very satisfied with information when researching online pg. 14

15 Personal research drives confidence 83% are somewhat to much more confident about making a purchase decision when they conduct their own research online vs. speaking to a salesperson in-store pg. 15

16 And saves significant time 79% report saving somewhat to much more time doing their own research online compared to more traditional in-store research pg. 16

17 Most shoppers spend a significant amount of time researching The time spent researching depends on shopper personality types but the majority (60%) report spending a week or more researching an information intensive product prior to purchase. pg. 17

18 2 Research starts with search, but happens on brand/retailer sites pg. 18

19 Search continues to be the starting point for research; 4 social media not top of mind A majority of shoppers (57%) begin research with a search engine; yet one-fifth choose either the brand s site or a retailer. pg. 19

20 Search is a conduit; research takes place on brand and retail sites Past search, retailer and brand sites were named as the top places where shoppers will typically research products online. pg. 20

21 3 Consumers expect social tools pg. 21

22 The basics continue to be important Consumers expect social tools in the online shopping process, engaging mostly with the basics. pg. 22

23 Consumers are more engaged with the #1 social tool, reviews Compared to 2007, shoppers are reading more customer reviews to be confident judging a product with people reading 8 or more up 77% over 2007 and 16 or more up 140%. pg. 23

24 Consumers are taking more time to research Compared to 2007, shoppers are taking more time with people spending 10 minutes or more up 28% over 2007 and people spending a half hour or more up 83%. pg. 24

25 Consumers demand a more comprehensive and credible review experience pg. 25

26 4 Consumers seek a variety of voices pg. 26

27 Friends and likeminded consumers are more influential than experts pg. 27

28 Consumers trust reviews to corroborate other research/voices pg. 28

29 Traditional ecommerce merchandising & customer service also serve as a voice to validate research How important is having the following capabilities on a retailer s website when it comes to selecting and ultimately purchasing a product? Rate each capability 1-5 with 1 being the most important and 5 not at all important. (Charted: "Top 2" very to ext Customer reviews and ratings on products Customer service information 69% 72% Category buying guides and expert opinions Top-rated products list, as rated by customers 60% 64% Customer supplied photos of the product being used Top-selling products list, created by retailer Merchant supplied videos of the product 36% 34% 39% Customer supplied videos of product "As Seen On" product Blogs Sharing tools 24% 21% 20% 20% pg. 29

30 5 Facebook is the social platform for researching/shopping pg. 30

31 After basic social shopping tools, Facebook features 4 show the most potential to inform buying behavior pg. 31

32 The driver of Facebook relevance in social shopping is the friend voice 50 or fewer friends 34% pg. 32

33 Facebook provides an opportunity for frequent social engagement pg. 33

34 The e-tailing group checklist for facilitating trust Think trust and the influence of all merchandising and marketing programs on how consumers will react and respond Ensure your site is a destination that serves the information hungry shopper well Present a product page complete with strong descriptions, in-depth user-generated content, rich media and recommended products Nurture user-generated content and present the whole picture to garner the greatest trust among your customer base Monitor and embrace social media in order to understand customer behavior that sets the stage for future selling efforts pg. 34

35 Social Commerce Success Plan Developing your social commerce strategy pg. 35

36 1. Build the foundation for trust 1. Initiate the conversation, focusing on the fundamentals: 1. Customer reviews 2. Q&A 2. Eliminate factors that degrade trust: 1. Focus on content volume 2. Present balanced perspectives 3. Identify verified users 3. Minimize the friction between engaging with content and purchasing a product pg. 36

37 2. Make content easy to find and consume Findable through SEO Easy to consume pg. 37

38 3. Accelerate trust through the collective voice Facebook Friends Brand Experts People Like Me Staff Experts Community Experts pg. 38

39 PowerReviews Social Commerce Suite Foundation Findability Collective Voice Focus on the #1 tools with the greatest impact on buying behavior Make it easy for shoppers to find and quickly navigate your content Give researchers access to all of the voices they trust in one place Retail Site Customer Reviews + Q &A Drives the highest level of community generated content People like you integrated into review collection process and display In-Line SEO + Review Display 2.0 Leverage customer voice and long tail keywords by making social content searchable Quickly summarize and add credibility to content with Review Snapshot & Review Faceoff People like you + Facebook Like Button + Brandshare Turnkey integration of 3 most influential voices into your site Automatically display content from likeminded users, friends, and brand experts pg. 39

40 What s next? Social commerce becomes Open commerce. User content invigorates the entire organization. pg. 40

41 Q&A pg. 41

42 Thanks for coming. To request a demo/social commerce consultation: webinar@powerreviews.com To contact your speakers directly: Lauren: lf@e-tailing.com Pehr: pehr@powerreviews.com To download a copy of this webinar, visit: Also, don t forget to come see us at IRCE in June! Booth #628 pg. 42