Shopping starts with social media

E-commerce is so last decade, the latest trend in shopping is social retailing, and it's not just a buzz phrase it's something that's happening now, and it's rife amongst the under 35s.

A new survey by website BagThat.com has found that more than more than a quarter (27%) of under 35 year olds have shared a purchase they have made on social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter.

Unsurprisingly the survey also found that social media was a big potential driver for purchasing, with up to 65 percent of those surveyed saying they would be more likely to make a purchase if they receive a recommendation via social media.

When BagThat looked at the sources of the recommendations it became clear that consumers were moving away from the standard sources of recommendations such as peer groups and their elders. Forty three per cent of shoppers on average, and fifty four per cent of under 35 year olds say they rely on friends' recommendations the most, compared to just 10 per cent who rely on a parent, and 5 per cent who rely on work colleagues.

Online shopping to overtake high street

The survey also looked at the current state of the ecommerce market and where it would be in five years.

On average, UK shoppers do 32 percent of all their shopping online, with almost a quarter of shoppers (23%) saying they do more than half of all their shopping online. Just 10 percent of people say they don't ever do online shopping and this falls to just 6 percent in the 18 to 34 year old age range.

When asked how much they believe they will do in 5 years time, the survey shows an increase to 45 percent overall. But amongst shoppers aged between 18 and 34 the figure is even larger, with the youth market estimating they will do over half (51%) of their shopping offline in five years time.