US Impacting eCommerce: Social Media & Product Reviews Market Report 2020

Consumer Reports eCommerce Social Media US

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Report Summary

“As consumers continue to shop more online, the importance and role of social media and product reviews will continue to increase. Even as consumers slowly return to in-store shopping, both social media and product reviews will influence the path to purchase and guide consumers’ decisions – regardless of whether the purchase is made in-store or online. Moving forward, brands and retailers will look to both engage and inform current and potential shoppers through both areas.”
– Vince DiGirolamo, Reports Director

This Report looks at the following areas:

The impact of COVID-19 on the role of social media and product reviews market
The increase in value-focused shopping due to the recession
How consumers are utilizing social media on their path to purchase
How brands and retailers can best obtain and utilize product reviews

Overview
- What you need to know
- Key issues covered in this Report
- Definition
- COVID-19: market context
Executive Summary
- Top takeaways
- Market overview
  - Figure 1: Total US retail ecommerce sales and forecast, at current prices, 2015-25
- Impact of COVID-19 on social media and product reviews
  - 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
- eCommerce sales continue to grow
- Product research gains importance
- Social commerce evolves
Market Size and Forecast
- eCommerce sales continue to grow
  - 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
  - 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
  - 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
- Product research gains importance
  - 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
  - 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
- Showcase product offerings with shoppable video
  - Figure 9: Nordstrom shoppable IGTV video
- Bringing direction to social shopping via curation tools
  - Figure 10: Kohl’s and CB2 Shoppable Collections
- Influencer recommendations drive consumer acquisitions
  - Figure 11: Pinterest shopping spotlight & Instagram creator guide
- Encouraging reviews with monetary incentives
  - Figure 12: ZitSticka incentive offer for product review
Competitive Strategies – Key Takeaways
- Lean on the squad for support
- Photography brand sources consumers’ photos from social media
- Giving reviews a prominent place on social
Competitive Strategies
- Sephora enlists trustworthy brand influencers
  - Figure 13: Sephora Squad member Grace Atwood
- Social Print Studio sources creative inspiration from social media
  - Figure 14: Social Print Studio App & Instagram
- Bala proves its worth by centering social reviews
  - Figure 15: Bala Instagram Story Reviews & Highlight
The Consumer – Key Takeaways
- 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
- Social media and reviews play a role throughout the path to purchase
- Technology
  - Figure 16: Technology Trend Driver and Pillars
- Identity
  - Figure 17: Identity Trend Driver and Pillars
- Value
  - Figure 18: Value Trend Driver and Pillars
- Experiences
  - Figure 19: Experiences Trend Driver and Pillars
Shift in Consumer Behavior Due to COVID-19
- Product reviews and social media have an increased role in consumers’ changing shopping habits
  - Figure 20: COVID-19 behavior shifts – Reviews and social media, June 2020
- An increasing role for social media and product reviews across generations
- - Figure 21: COVID-19 behavior shifts – Reviews and social media by generation, June 2020
- - Figure 22: Peloton shares members’ feedback
Pre-purchase Research
- Reading reviews is a safety measure
  - Figure 23: Review usage and purchases, by category, June 2020
- - Figure 24: Nikon and Consumer Reports electronics reviews
- Use reviews to support consumers’ confidence
  - Figure 25: Pre-purchase research activities, June 2020
- - Figure 26: Etsy shares user review to guide purchase decisions
- Consumers turn to multiple sources for reviews
  - Figure 27: Review sources, June 2020
- - Figure 28: Engadget gaming console review
- Social media will be a critical review avenue for younger generations
  - Figure 29: Review sources, by generation, June 2020
- - Figure 30: Birchbox unboxing and product review
Post-purchase Behavior
- Post-purchase engagement remains fairly low
  - Figure 31: Post-purchase behaviors, June 2020
- - Figure 32: Nuun Hydration encourages users to share feedback
- Social media is a key step along the consumer’s path to purchase
  - Figure 33: Post-purchase behaviors, by frequency, June 2020
- Experiences that evoke emotion (positive or negative) drive consumers to leave feedback
  - Figure 34: Reasons to write a review, June 2020
What Consumers Seek from Product Reviews
- Consumers are more focused on info specific to the product, not the user
- - Figure 35: Information in reviews, June 2020
- - Figure 36: TURF Analysis – Review contents, see more of, June 2020
- Younger consumers are open to sharing visual reviews
  - Figure 37: Information in reviews, by generation, June 2020
Attitudes toward Reviews and Social Media
- Consumers don’t judge a product by the rating cover
  - Figure 38: Attitudes toward reviews, June 2020
- Women conduct more thorough research
  - Figure 39: Attitudes toward reviews, by gender, June 2020
- Transparency and participation from brands are key on social media
  - Figure 40: Attitudes toward social media, June 2020
- Social media engagement is key for younger generations and multicultural consumers
  - Figure 41: Attitudes toward social media, by generation, June 2020
- - Figure 42: Attitudes toward social media, by race, June 2020
Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations
- Data sources
- Forecast
- Consumer survey data
- Consumer qualitative research
- Direct marketing creative
- Abbreviations and terms
- Abbreviations
Appendix – The Consumer
- - Figure 43: Reasons to not to read a review, June 2020
- - Figure 44: Pre-purchase research activities, by frequency, June 2020
- - Figure 45: Important attributes of reviews, June 2020
- - Figure 46: TURF Analysis – Review contents, comfortable sharing, June 2020

About the report

This market report provides in-depth analysis and insight supported by a range of data. At the same time, introductory and top-level content is provided to give you an overview of the issues covered.

Market

Mintel provides a range of market information, frequently through the category level, including market size and forecasting, complete with market drivers that illustrate the forces that shape a category or market.

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Mintel’s proprietary consumer research provides our analysts with the attitudinal and behavioral data used to provide valuable insight to topical issues.

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Data

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*databooks not available with UK B2B Industry reports.

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Report Summary

Table of Contents

Overview

Executive Summary

The Market – Key Takeaways

Market Size and Forecast

Market Factors

Market Opportunities

Competitive Strategies – Key Takeaways

Competitive Strategies

The Consumer – Key Takeaways

Consumer Trend Drivers and Social Media & Product Reviews

Shift in Consumer Behavior Due to COVID-19

Pre-purchase Research

Post-purchase Behavior

What Consumers Seek from Product Reviews

Attitudes toward Reviews and Social Media

Appendix – Data Sources and Abbreviations

Appendix – The Consumer

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