Have you ever wondered about using social media big data for an in-depth view of customer purchase behavior?
Social media platforms are no longer just places to share personal photos or videos. This environment has become an excellent commerce strategy for small and large businesses.
This article will show you that, in order to have a favorable position in the market, entrepreneurs must understand how important it is to analyze and use data for social media purchases.
First, here is a recap of the development of this behavior in the past years.
Social Commerce Is The Next Big Thing
A new feature allows users to purchase on a social media channel without leaving their accounts. Small companies that invest in Instagram strategy, for example, have the opportunity to sell within the platform itself.
Qingqing Han is the Co-Founder and Co-CEO of Wissee, a product trend and influencer analytics for e-commerce and social commerce.
In an interview for Fashinnovation, she says that 2020 saw a sizable increase in social commerce occurring on social media channels. For her, “the arrival of Facebook and Instagram Shops helped spur this new sales channel.”
In 2021, Twitter launched commerce features with Twitter card shop buttons on tweets. And TikTok also followed with its shopping suite.
“Social commerce is also present in Etsy, Pinterest, WeChat and many others, with dozens of other platforms popping up. Their number is bound to increase even more this 2022”, states Qingqing Han.
So far, you can understand that social commerce and social selling are different than traditional e-commerce.
To explain better, Qingqing Han addresses that “the first one engages consumers through unique content created by brands, influencers, or individuals. It harnesses social networks for shopping. Therefore, the social commerce gamebook is very different from traditional e-commerce.”
China’s Influence
In just one day in October 2021, two of China’s top-tier live-streamers, Li Jiaqi and Viya, sold $3 billion in goods on social media. To put it in context, that is nearly three times the average daily sales on Amazon.
That is the essence of social commerce in the digital era. And it’s on the rise to sweeping the global market, becoming a 2.9 trillion industry by 2026 and 3.37 trillion by 2028, according to Qingqing Han.
“My opinion is that social commerce is the now and the future. 68% of consumers made at least one purchase directly from social media in 2021. And there is a lot we can learn from China, whose shoppers have already led the way to the social commerce boom in the past three years”, says Wissee’s Co-Founder and Co-CEO.
This is the market opportunity the company is catching on with using the power of social media big data.
Keep An Eye On Tik Tok For Commerce Opportunities
We already know the proportions that Tik Tok has taken in recent years. And that’s what Qingqing Han highlights:
“I believe that the TikTok boom in social commerce will occur in the coming 1 or 2 years, with the integration of its Shop tool and Gen Z’s big push in social buying. Gen Z’s buying habits are shifting the whole global e-commerce and social commerce market.”
With spending power estimated up to $323 billion, Gen Z is not shopping at online marketplaces nearly as much as other generations. While 67% of older generations rely on sites like Amazon, only 37% of Gen Z said the same.
According to Fast Company, Gen Z makes up more than 40% of U.S. consumers. They value authenticity and interaction and use social media to seek inspiration, research products and connect with their favorite brands. Plus, Qingqing Han shares that 60% of Generation Z in the US use Instagram to discover new brands, products and services.
More than 76% of Gen Z say they follow an influencer on social media, and 48% of Americans aged 18-34 have purchased from social media.
Why Is Social Media Big Data Important for Brands & Influencers?
Brands and influencers need to understand what type of consumers they want to influence and sell in a profound way to connect with them. They must keep up with the trends, topics, interests, and products the social media audience likes or dislikes. Also, know the individuals who can exert the right selling power within their networks.
Qingqing Han addresses that social commerce players need real-time insights from big data on social media to help them make smart decisions. It includes taking into account:
- Which products can sell the best on social?
- What kind of influencers should I collaborate with for this specific product and market/location?
- What type of content would engage my audience the best and create the best ROI for me?
All these decisions are crucial in making social commerce successful and social commerce intelligence based on data is the key.
Social Media Big Data Analytics Built for Fashion Brands
Qingqing Han shares some of the most considerable benefits of Wissee services on social media data for small or new brands in fashion.
Increase sales and reduce inventory costs by creating products that are the fittest to consumer needs
Brands get a deep understanding of the real-time consumer trends with Wissee’s powerful analytics of 5M fashion influencers’ discussions and consumers’ responses to the 2000 fashion brands’ runway and products.
It is especially needed for small, new, nimble brands that cannot initially afford to invest a lot of inventory. These brands must identify the best products to sell to the right audience. Therefore, knowing the trend and what consumers like is essential for small or new brands to generate cash flow, reduce inventory cost and de-risk product development.
Wissee’s consumer demand-driven product selection and trend detection help brands create viral products and boost sales. For example, with one fashion brand, Wissee helped it continuously find fashion attributes with viral potential.
In August 2021, Wissee spotted plaid as a trending pattern and analyzed the social discussions in various clothing categories. They discovered that plaid coats were the most liked by consumers. In November, 70% of the client’s sales in the coat category were from the one they found about.
Boost marketing efficiency & ROI with precision influencer marketing built for fashion brands
Brands, especially small and new brands, have a limited budget for marketing. And without it, there is no traffic or sales. They need the most efficient way to use their marketing dollars and get the best ROI. As studies show, influencers deliver 11x ROI over all forms of digital media.
Using big data and AI models rooted in the fashion industry, Wissee can help brands find the best-performing influencers in the 80+ subcategories of clothing, shoes, accessories, etc.
Identifying the influencers for the products increases conversion and creates better brand affinity among influencers and consumers.
For example, Wissee helped one D2C fashion brand successfully onboarded 900+ Influencers on a sales commission basis in 3 months. The brands’ GMV increased by 208%, orders by 125% and GMV per post by 193%.
Like this article? Don’t forget to read this one: Why Social Media Marketing Can Be a Game-changer for your brand!
* Content written in partnership with Wissee
