Half of Britons to make Black Friday purchases through social media

By

Barbara Santamaria

Published
Oct 25, 2018

Shoppers are increasingly buying on social media, and this tendency is expected to grow by as much as 66% in the UK during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, according to a global study by GlobalWebIndex.

Social media networks like Facebook and Instagram are helping users discover new trends, research about new brands and see what their friends have purchased, strengthening their role as product research platforms.

According to a global study of 3,500 consumers in the UK and US, 49% of UK shoppers an 53% of their American counterparts are now converting through social platforms. And only a quarter of respondents in the UK said they wouldn’t purchase through social media after seeing a sales offer during the discount weekend.

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But what makes a social media network great for social shopping? A quarter of UK respondents and 31% of customers in the US said that getting a good preview of the product is a top priority, while 20% like to see the latest trends and influencer posts. A further 20% enjoys the fact that  they can see what friends have engaged with or purchased.

The rise of online shopping is also likely to have an impact on high street stores, with just 13% of UK and US internet users planning to buy products in-store during Black Friday and Cyber Monday, and 12% opting for click and collect.

“It’s not all doom and gloom for the high street, brands and retailers with physical outlets should be orientating the shopper journey in-store around experiences, rather than pure sales. This will encourage that all-important loyalty online in the run-up to Christmas,” said Senior trends analyst at GlobalWebIndex, Chase Buckle.

But despite social media networks showing increasingly higher conversion rates, only 17% of consumers expect to do ‘most’ of their Christmas shopping during the Black Friday weekend, so brands and retailers should plan their marketing budget accordingly.

“Black Friday and Cyber Monday continue to serve a purpose for consumers at an international level. However, marketers need to remember that this winter period is a marathon and not a sprint. It’s clear social media channels need to be taken into consideration, but brands must think carefully about how to allocate spend throughout the whole winter sales period,” Buckle continued.