The evolution of technology over the past decade has affected the retail sector tremendously. Brick-and-mortar stores have had to quickly adapt to the massive growth of online commerce, and many of those that weren’t agile enough were left by the wayside—or disappeared entirely.

Today, one of the technology platforms that is impacting retail most significantly is social media. Giving retailers the ability to deliver incentives, discounts, and custom content, social media offers a rich, direct channel for marketing to customers. How social is your store?

What savvy retailers need to know this month

1. Social listening: 52% of retailers surveyed reported that they now use social media to gain a more accurate understanding of how consumers perceive their brand [1]
2. Researching purchases: 36% of U.S. consumers say that they consulted social media on a significant portion (30% or more) of their 2013 holiday purchases. [2]
3. Influencing purchases: [tweet_quote]Consumers are 71% more likely to purchase when referred by social media[/tweet_quote] [3]
4. Pinterest beats Facebook: During a four-week period in October and November 2013, customers referred from Facebook spent an average of $54.64 per order, compared to an average of $123.50 per order from Pinterest [4]
5. But retailers aren’t embracing Pinterest: Only 22% of retailer product pages list Pinterest as a sharing option [5]
6. Twitter’s gaining influence: Of 53% of consumers who use Twitter to recommend companies or products in their Tweets, 48% actually bought that product or service[6]
7. No check-ins = missing out: Only 50% of retailers are currently evaluating social shopper check-ins for future implementation [7]
8. Is your budget too small?: Only 1 in 4 retailers surveyed are spending more on Twitter, YouTube, and Instagram [8]
9. Response time matters: Retailers’ average response time to a consumer post in social media lags seven hours [9]
10. Boomers matter: The fastest-growing social media user segment is also the one that traditionally has the most disposable income: users between the ages of 45-64 [10]

[1] (2013 TechValidate SAP Customer Survey)
http://cdn.blog-sap.com/innovation/files/2013/09/social-and-data-264x300.png

[2] (Adobe Digital Index | 2013 Holiday and eCommerce Benchmark)
http://www.cmo.com/content/dam/CMO_Other/ADI/2013HolidayShoppingRecap/2013HolidayAndeCommerceBenchmark.pdf

[3] (Why Everyone is Talking About Ecommerce Inbound Marketing: How Word-of-Mouth, Customer Reviews are Changing the Marketing World, Hubspot 2012)
http://blog.hubspot.com/blog/tabid/6307/bid/30239/71-More-Likely-to-Purchase-Based-on-Social-Media-Referrals-Infographic.aspx

[4] (IBM Digital Analytics Benchmark)
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/27/technology/retailers-seek-partners-in-social-networks.html

[5] (Econsultancy, 2012)
https://econsultancy.com/blog/9803-pinterest-drives-more-sales-than-facebook-stats

[6]  (ODM Group, 2011)
http://sproutsocial.com/insights/social-networks-influence-buying-decisions/

[7] (RIS News Omnichannel Readiness Report)
http://risnews.edgl.com/retail-best-practices/Top-5-Best-in-Class-Omnichannel-Retailers88936

[8] (Forrester: The State Of Retailing Online 2013: Marketing And Merchandising)
http://cdn2.content.compendiumblog.com/uploads/user/10de84bd-0a35-4f29-a053-88b2268a231b/5da54833-d8e3-4852-ad7e-be9caa08cb9d/File/aa8300d60ee389d42910e001cb8a856e/the_state_of_retailing_online_marketingmerchandising_07_30_13.pdf

[9] (Exact Target, 2012)
http://www.exacttarget.com/blog/social-media-stats-behind-the-fastest-growing-retailers-infographic/

[10] (Search Engine Journal)
http://www.searchenginejournal.com/growth-social-media-2-0-infographic/77055/