PwC has released a new study [PDF] examining the behavior of online shoppers across 11 countries on social media. The study – which argues that social media is unlikely to soon become an important retail channel – finds that only 12% of online shoppers surveyed in 2012 reported having bought an item through a social media site, and less than 1 in 5 had bought a product due to information found on a social media site. The survey results also show that social media users are attracted to brands’ social sites primarily by deals, promotions, and sales (49%), while few are there to research products before buying them (10%).
The study dubs these respondents “deal hunters.” Those who visit brands’ social media sites because they are interested in new product offerings (28%), because they shop with the brand (17%), because they’re interested in interacting with the brand (9%), or because they’re interested in interacting with others that follow the brand (7%) fall into the “brand lovers” bucket. Read the rest at MarketingCharts.
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