Characteristics of social shopping customers
Social commerce or social shopping is a comparatively new phenomenon that has imparted a new dimension to the already existing concept of e-commerce. Social customers constitute the group with eerie expectations and actions. While one might shop in greed of the online incentives, the other might purchase a product just because his/her friends have already done so. Typically, these customers reflect two characteristics.
First, social shoppers are not always goal-oriented. Simply put, they might not be clear about what to buy and from where to buy. Therefore, purchases made by others might generate concrete ideas in these customers. Online surveys have further conceded that distractions in social customers are, more often than not, triggered by incentives and rewards associated with the online shopping. Amounts of saving might act as a better motivator to purchase than the need of the product itself. Secondly, social customers prefer shopping with other people than doing it alone. They feel that the exchange of shopping ideas enhances the overall shopping experience.
Ideas for the Local Business Owners
First and the foremost, local businesses must optimize the content of their website for mobile search. My personal experience reveals that there are still few businesses who optimize their websites for mobile search. The key, here, is to carve sufficient methods to merge social media, online shopping, and mobile search. It will not only boost up the online presence of local businesses but will affect customer relationship management in a positive manner.
Secondly, businesses must keep the customers updated with ongoing deals via social media; it is one of the fastest means to fetch customers' loyalty. Most of the shoppers feel the inclination to personalized deals on products and services. Thus, communicating with the customers through proper channels will definitely end up in fetching a long-standing customer satisfaction and business relationship.
