WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SOCIAL BUY BUTTONS
Monday, October 5, 2015Global Administrator
Although still in an infancy stage, social commerce seems to be taking the online retail space by storm. We’ve discussed how much social can help your eCommerce sales in past blog posts, and we stand by it. Did you know that near 80% of respondents from a Forbes study say that a social media post had impacted their buying decision (
Social Media Today)? Buyers tend to be emotional by nature, so a photo, quote or simple call to action can trigger that into a purchase. In fact, according to the same study, 4 out of 10 social media users have purchased an item online or in-store after engaging with it on Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest (
Social Media Today).
Recently, however, social selling has changed the playing field even more. With the introduction of social buy buttons, consumers have a whole new way of making a purchase… and retailers have yet another avenue for reaching their audience. Here is what you need to know!
The Pinterest Button:
Pinterest’s buyable pins were among the first of its kind. It’s no surprise that Pinterest is a very specific type of social platform. It gave way to a movement of scrapbooking and bookmarking. This is a golden ticket for online retailers! By providing this immediate call to action to your user, you’re able to reach them in an entirely new way. Some things you need to know as a retailer:
It is currently only available for US retailers
It is available for iPhone and iPad
Allows users to purchase items without leaving the app
A user can pay with Apple Pay or by credit card
Pinterest will save the user’s information so they can continue to purchase with less hassle
The seller is responsible for delivery, not Pinterest
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Pinterest)
Facebook Buy Button:
For over a decade Facebook has been a game changer in how companies sell and how individuals consume information. With this Buy Button feature, users can click the “buy” call-to-action to make a purchase directly from the company without ever leaving the mobile app. Here is what you need to know:
- Only available to Shopify merchants
- This is still being tested by a number of online retailers
- Expected to be a game changer in the next couple of years
- Facebook has announced it will not be taking a cut of sales
- The seller is responsible for delivery, not Facebook
(
Business Insider) (
TechCrunch)
Twitter Buy Button:
Twitter just announced they were taking their social commerce a new level a year after they launched their “Buy Now” button in tweets. The social platform is now in partnership with ecommerce animals Shopify, Bigcommerce, and Demandware. This is in hopes that these merchants run their online services through Twitter (
Tech Crunch). Here us what you need to know:
- Twitter will save the user’s information so they can continue to purchase with less hassle
- The seller is responsible for delivery, not Twitter
- Your purchase will not be tweeted to your followers by default but you will be able to share if you please
- You will receive an email receipt/confirmation to the email on file
- The seller will communicate delivery time, return and exchange policy in the confirmation email
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Twitter)
Although social media has been a big factor for users and their online purchase habits, the idea of social commerce in this capacity is still fairly new. There will be a lot of testing and changes to come in the near future. Having said that, social commerce as a whole, is exciting and here to stay.
What are your thoughts on these additions to the world of eCommerce? How do you think this will affect you as an online retailer?