Social Commerce and Millennials

Millennials like over 60% of companies on Facebook, including Nike, Apple, Disney and Victoria’s Secret. What's motivating them? It's as simple as supporting the company or brand they like.

In fact, Millennials are more likely to act on a sale if a coupon or discount is offered on a social networking site and Facebook users are more likely to make a purchase online after liking or sharing something according to a recent study, conducted by the Center for Marketing Research (CMR) at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

Additional findings include

• Facebook users are more likely to make a purchase online after liking or sharing something than are the users of Twitter or Pinterest
• Hair, Beauty, and Apparel is the top category of purchases made across social networking platforms
• Pinterest users are more likely to use a “buy” button (or “buyable pins”) than are Facebook or Twitter users
• More than 40 million businesses now have pages on Facebook making it a popular place to like a brand or company.
• Twitter has seen a decrease of 7%

Purchase after Liking and Sharing
Millennials connect with social media purchases on Facebook. Forty-One percent of the surveyed with users accounts indicated they made a purchase of some type on Facebook after liking or sharing.

What are they buying?
Purchases were performed on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest after sharing something online and Millennials clearly prefer to buy goods in the category of Hair, Beauty and Apparel. This is the category where the most purchases were made across the three platforms studied, accounting for roughly half of all purchases. This is consistent with studies conducted in previous years.

The Conclusion
This is a normal way of life. Social Media is simply as normal as using a microwave in daily life. It impacts where they go, what they do, what they buy and where they shop. There is evidence that the companies and brands that they like and follow over time as does their preferred way to make purchases. Mobile devices have become central to their social influenced purchases since Millennials are now able to connect with companies/brands wherever and whenever they want.