Social media’s luster got scuffed up a tad today amidst a new report from Monetate.
The company, which promotes itself as a “customer experience engine that leverages big data to create personalized online experiences,” published its latest Ecommerce Quarterly (EQ1 2013) report.
This quarter’s report takes a deep look at social commerce trends. And the news isn’t all that good for social media.
According to the report’s findings, social media is lagging as direct traffic source to eCommerce websites and for online purchases, despite brand investment.
Social media represented just 1.55 percent of all eCommerce traffic, way behind search (31.43 percent) and trailing email (2.82 percent). And social media traffic numbers were down from Q1, 2012, when they were 2.36 percent. The data lead to the question: Should brands change their approach to social marketing?
“As marketers know, data can tell a story and the EQ1 2013 tells the story of a fast-growing eCommerce market where companies face growing opportunities and challenges,” says Blair Lyon , vice president of marketing at Monetate. “We focused this EQ on social commerce since the data shows the companies have not yet cracked the code in leveraging social media to drive eCommerce traffic. We know that social media plays an important role in influencing social purchases – to what degree brands are able to leverage social to build loyalty is the next big question.”
