Table of Contents
Executive Summary
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- Top takeaways
- Market overview
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- Figure 1: Total US retail ecommerce sales and forecast, at current prices, 2015-25
- Impact of COVID-19 on social media and product reviews
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- Figure 2: Short-, medium- and long-term impact of COVID-19 on social media and product reviews, November 2020
- Opportunities and challenges
- Leverage social influencers and communities
- Adopt and improve social commerce capabilities
- Follow up and incentivize product reviews
The Market – Key Takeaways
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- eCommerce sales continue to grow
- Product research gains importance
- Social commerce evolves
Market Size and Forecast
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- eCommerce sales continue to grow
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- Figure 3: Total US retail ecommerce sales and forecast, at current prices, 2015-25
- Macroeconomic factors
- High unemployment and shaky consumer confidence drive a focus on value
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- Figure 4: Consumer confidence and unemployment, 2000-October 2020
- Overview of social media platforms
- Consumers flock to social media as form of escape
- The Wild West of video content
- Social media commerce evolves beyond shoppable posts
- Authentic social communities mutually benefit brands and consumers
- Impact of COVID-19 on social media and product reviews
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- Figure 5: Short-, medium- and long-term impact of COVID-19 on social media and product reviews, November 2020
- Lockdown
- Re-emergence
- Recovery
- COVID-19: US context
- Learnings from the last recession
Market Factors
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- Product research gains importance
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- Figure 6: Disposable personal income change from previous period, January 2019-October 2020
- Figure 7: Unemployment and underemployment, January 2007-November 2020
- TikTok’s foggy future gives competitors a boost
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- Figure 8: Instagram debuts shopping within IGTV
- Social commerce evolution increases importance of social media reviews
- Using 5G to integrate digital experiences
- Social shoppers wary of misinformation
Market Opportunities
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- Showcase product offerings with shoppable video
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- Figure 9: Nordstrom shoppable IGTV video
- Bringing direction to social shopping via curation tools
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- Figure 10: Kohl’s and CB2 Shoppable Collections
- Influencer recommendations drive consumer acquisitions
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- Figure 11: Pinterest shopping spotlight & Instagram creator guide
- Encouraging reviews with monetary incentives
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- Figure 12: ZitSticka incentive offer for product review
Competitive Strategies – Key Takeaways
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- Lean on the squad for support
- Photography brand sources consumers’ photos from social media
- Giving reviews a prominent place on social
Competitive Strategies
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- Sephora enlists trustworthy brand influencers
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- Figure 13: Sephora Squad member Grace Atwood
- Social Print Studio sources creative inspiration from social media
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- Figure 14: Social Print Studio App & Instagram
- Bala proves its worth by centering social reviews
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- Figure 15: Bala Instagram Story Reviews & Highlight
The Consumer – Key Takeaways
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- Consumers are both attached to and overwhelmed by social media
- Reviews are critical to the online shopping journey
- Post-purchase engagement needs encouragement
- Reviews must go deeper than the ratings
Consumer Trend Drivers and Social Media & Product Reviews
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- Social media and reviews play a role throughout the path to purchase
- Technology
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- Figure 16: Technology Trend Driver and Pillars
- Identity
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- Figure 17: Identity Trend Driver and Pillars
- Value
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- Figure 18: Value Trend Driver and Pillars
- Experiences
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- Figure 19: Experiences Trend Driver and Pillars
Shift in Consumer Behavior Due to COVID-19
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- Product reviews and social media have an increased role in consumers’ changing shopping habits
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- Figure 20: COVID-19 behavior shifts – Reviews and social media, June 2020
- An increasing role for social media and product reviews across generations
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- Figure 21: COVID-19 behavior shifts – Reviews and social media by generation, June 2020
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- Figure 22: Peloton shares members’ feedback
Pre-purchase Research
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- Reading reviews is a safety measure
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- Figure 23: Review usage and purchases, by category, June 2020
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- Figure 24: Nikon and Consumer Reports electronics reviews
- Use reviews to support consumers’ confidence
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- Figure 25: Pre-purchase research activities, June 2020
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- Figure 26: Etsy shares user review to guide purchase decisions
- Consumers turn to multiple sources for reviews
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- Figure 27: Review sources, June 2020
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- Figure 28: Engadget gaming console review
- Social media will be a critical review avenue for younger generations
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- Figure 29: Review sources, by generation, June 2020
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- Figure 30: Birchbox unboxing and product review
Post-purchase Behavior
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- Post-purchase engagement remains fairly low
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- Figure 31: Post-purchase behaviors, June 2020
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- Figure 32: Nuun Hydration encourages users to share feedback
- Social media is a key step along the consumer’s path to purchase
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- Figure 33: Post-purchase behaviors, by frequency, June 2020
- Experiences that evoke emotion (positive or negative) drive consumers to leave feedback
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- Figure 34: Reasons to write a review, June 2020
What Consumers Seek from Product Reviews
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- Consumers are more focused on info specific to the product, not the user
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- Figure 35: Information in reviews, June 2020
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- Figure 36: TURF Analysis – Review contents, see more of, June 2020
- Younger consumers are open to sharing visual reviews
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- Figure 37: Information in reviews, by generation, June 2020
Attitudes toward Reviews and Social Media
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- Consumers don’t judge a product by the rating cover
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- Figure 38: Attitudes toward reviews, June 2020
- Women conduct more thorough research
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- Figure 39: Attitudes toward reviews, by gender, June 2020
- Transparency and participation from brands are key on social media
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- Figure 40: Attitudes toward social media, June 2020
- Social media engagement is key for younger generations and multicultural consumers
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- Figure 41: Attitudes toward social media, by generation, June 2020
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- Figure 42: Attitudes toward social media, by race, June 2020
Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations
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- Data sources
- Forecast
- Consumer survey data
- Consumer qualitative research
- Direct marketing creative
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
Appendix – The Consumer
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- Figure 43: Reasons to not to read a review, June 2020
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- Figure 44: Pre-purchase research activities, by frequency, June 2020
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- Figure 45: Important attributes of reviews, June 2020
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- Figure 46: TURF Analysis – Review contents, comfortable sharing, June 2020
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