Social Commerce – How Much Do Social Networks Influence Purchases?
Research published by the Harvard Business School, found that in Korea, where social networking and commerce is more established, social networks do influence purchase, but the degree of influence depends on the usage level and connectedness of a user. In summary, the research shows:
● For light users of social networks with few connections (48% of users), purchases are unaffected by social network activity.
● For moderate users of social networks with average connections (40%), purchases are influenced by social network interaction, boosting vendor sales for this group by 5%.
● For heavy users of social networks with a high number of connections (12%), purchases are also influenced by social network interaction but negatively; these users avoid buying what their friends have bought and are talking about, leading to a 14% drop in sales from this group for vendors.
FYI (This is to give you a pinch of reality so you can carry out your on research)
Good-Luck (Team Expertek US)