BOSTON-Most consumers prefer to go directly to retailers’ stores and websites versus their social-media sites to shop for merchandise, according to a survey conducted by hybris, a provider of multichannel commerce and communication software.
In the study, titled “U.S. 2012 Social Media and Shopping Survey,” 65 percent of the responding consumers said they don’t visit social-media channels to interact with and/or get information from their preferred retailers. Along with their preference for visiting stores and websites, many of these participants cited concerns about the privacy of their information on social-media sites.
Among those shoppers who do visit social-media sites, 75 percent chose Facebook as the channel they use most often to do so. Their primary reasons for “liking” a Facebook retailer page are to receive notices about sales and to get coupons or online codes. Other reasons include to learn company/product news, to read consumers’ reviews/feedback about products and to show their friends what products and brands they prefer.
Steven Kramer, hybris’ North American president, said the survey results show “the importance of retailers having a cohesive, cross-channel marketing and commerce strategy, with social media just a piece of the overall multichannel puzzle.”