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India Leads in Purchasing Through Social Media

Recent studies by Pitney Bowes show that Indian online shoppers rank on top when it comes to buying products from social media sites. As many as 27 percent of the people surveyed in India said that they buy products on social media, with Brazil (15 percent) and Russia (14 percent), a close second and third.

 

Among millennials, social media is becoming one of the most popular ways to shop online and it is affecting their purchasing decisions. In a survey of 12,000 adults from 12 nations, researchers found that search engines lead in helping online shoppers find products, but social media is what influenced them to buy.

 

“In today’s global marketplace, e-commerce is continuing to connect the world’s economies in new ways, making it possible for brands to sell, compete and expand their footprint,” said Lila Snyder of Pitney Bowes.

 

Nearly a quarter of the people surveyed preferred mobile devices to make their online purchases. As with social media, online purchasing through mobile devices is again popular with millennials. Online shopping through mobile sites and social media does have some drawbacks as many of the surveyed shoppers voiced. These include high shipping costs, delayed delivery and additional fees owed during delivery. Another area of concern which could hurt a company’s online shopping share is product return policies and processes.

 

India leads in product return concerns, followed by Germany and the US. These include negative customer comments, reviews and ratings which many online shoppers take seriously.

 

The shoppers are there and they are taking advantage of being able to shop online and through social media sites but businesses have to step it up if they are going to retain those shoppers and profit from this new trend. They can do this by ensuring their customer service standards are being followed and that they place the needs of the customers first.