Survey: Social Media Barely Made Dent in Online Holiday Shopping
Only about 5 percent of online holiday shoppers were influenced primarily by social media to visit top retail websites, according to a new survey.
The survey by market research firm ForeSee Results showed 19 percent of online shoppers visited sites mostly because of promotional e-mails and 8 percent because of search engine results.
These findings suggest “that tried-and-true online marketing tactics should not be abandoned or ignored in favor of newer media,” ForeSee Results reported. The firm pointed out that retailers “continue to put vast resources” into social media marketing.
Meanwhile, mobile shopping is playing a bigger role in retail.
The survey of the top 40 retail websites found that 14 percent of shoppers had used their mobile phones to access a site or app of a retailer they had rated. Shoppers looked up prices on the phones, compared product specifications or did product research.
Only 2 percent of online shoppers said they had made a purchase via mobile phone from a retailer they cited in the survey. Overall, 11 percent of online shoppers said they had made some sort of purchase by mobile phone during the 2010 holiday season, according to the survey.
Roughly one-fifth of shoppers indicated they prefer to conduct research online and then buy in a traditional store, the survey showed.
Other findings in the ForeSee Results survey:
• Amazon.com ranked first for customer satisfaction among the top 40 e-retailers. It was followed by Netflix, QVC.com, Avon.com, LLBean.com, Newegg.com and Apple.com.
• In a head-to-head match-up, Amazon.com outperformed Walmart.com.
“Why does Amazon beat out Walmart in satisfaction?” the Foresee Results report said. “Because Amazon beats out Walmart in three of four measured elements. Compared to Walmart site visitors, Amazon’s say they are more committed to the brand, more likely to shop online again at Amazon, more likely to recommend Amazon, and more likely to return.”
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