Social Media Taking Retail by Storm

Thursday 03rd of February 2011 08:07:24 PM

Social Media Taking Retail by Storm

If you are not on Facebook, you probably know about it. How could you not when social media is considered to be the future of the most successful marketing? Of course, technology tools like RSS feeds and website links and so much more are making it convenient for shoppers to find the best deals on t-shirts to appliances. You can set up an account with an email address and then get automatic notices when information is contributed by users or retailers or you can just click a link you come across.

Facebook is one of the social media trend setters though. The company understands what people want available for connecting. You may not be aware of it, but there is now a Facebook Deals and a Facebook Places too. The two social media programs work together to allow friends to easily find out if their real-person friends are in the area. It takes a smartphone of course, but you can use the phone to find out if friends are around so they can meet you and drop into a store to take advantage of a deal on jeans or dresses.

This is a bit of a take-off on the RSS feed which keeps consumers up-to-date also because Facebook Deals notifies consumers of current great deals and then the consumers can meet at the store. RSS feeds also notify people of great deals but send them to the online store. The Facebook Deals user shows the store their Facebook notice which qualifies them for the sale price. With RSS feeds and Twitter and auto text messaging, you can get the same type of information. For example, news of a great sale on polo shirts can be sent to consumers who have linked into a particular website. The consumer can then simply go online and buy without having to worry about driving to the store and then finding friends in the area.

Still, Facebook Deals and Facebook Places is a new trend in social commerce that just may once again change the way people shop the brick and mortar stores. A division head at Enders Analysis Ian Maude told the Telegraph that, “I think the power of social commerce will be significant and the effect on retail will be in the hundreds of millions of pounds. It is definitely not a gimmick and has the power to transform business at a local level. Although I don’t think new services, such as Facebook Places Deals will fundamentally change people’s buying patterns but it will definitely alter them to some degree.”

In other words, keep doing what you’re doing now by shopping online but enjoy the extra little social media opportunities. But when it comes to finding the real bargains, you need to take advantage of the RSS fees, email sale notices, favorite shopping site bookmarks and links. In that way you know for sure you’re not missing out on a great deal