Shopping habits have evolved significantly in recent years, but this in itself is not a big revelation. With e-commerce giants like Amazon and Walmart in the digital space that cater to our convenience, helping us make decisions based on product reviews and easy price comparisons, it is no surprise that in a recent survey* from a pool of over 3,100 shoppers age 18+, 45% -- nearly half -- of them shop online at least once weekly.

It is also not a surprise that, in the age of the connected consumer, we found that the majority of shoppers use social media daily. 65% of them are accessing Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest and other social platforms from their devices, looking at photos and videos shared by people in their network or people they follow.

What may be a surprise is that among the 51% who have seen a photo or video of a product or brand posted by a real person on social media, 90% deliberately seek out this content, with 50% of them seeking it out weekly or more often, depending on their age, as the number increases the younger the shopper.

As retailers and brands consider adopting a consumer-generated content (CGC) strategy, these are important numbers to keep in mind.

CGC such as videos and pictures posted by real people play a pivotal role in the decision-making process. It is especially compelling for retailers when 66% are more likely to purchase a product if the website has social media posts with pictures and videos from real customers.

The Power of Social Content
Why does visual content shared by social media hold so much sway in our decisions? Two words: Inspiration and Validation.

It’s human nature to often look past the horizon in search of more. We are trained from a young age to aspire to be more, do more, and as such, we look for inspiration all around us to continually work towards a better version of ourselves.

As a race who thrives in communities, our sense of belonging also brings with it an innate need for validation - Do I fit in? Will I be accepted? As we spend more time online and create these virtual communities, that need for validation follows us to our online space. When we look at the content in our social media streams, we are essentially participating in a community from which we subconsciously seek inspiration from those we admire, such as celebrities, athletes or anyone we deem more successful than we are, and validation from our peers, which include friends and family.

When these same people share content, we tend to trust what they have to say and because we admire them, we trust their taste. This holds true even if the content is shared by people we don’t personally know.

This is because we are naturally drawn to the authentic human connections found in social media. The emphasis is on authenticity, which lends itself to a precious commodity for retailers and brands called “trust”.

When we see photos from people outside of our social network on products we’re considering ourselves, we are inclined to trust their choices, which can influence our own buying behavior. This explains why 65% trust a brand more if they link to social media posts from real customers.

Therefore it would make sense for retailers and brands to consider adopting a social content strategy that capitalizes on the implicit trust that is readily found in social media. Especially since 49% of online shoppers are willing to post a photo/video to social media if a brand or product asks.

Just imagine what you could do with that?

* Source: Bazaarvoice.com

Here is an excerpt of a presentation I created, "Online Shopping and Social Media Usage", based on the research mentioned above.