According the "2011 Social Shopping Study"- a research published by powerreviews.com and e-tailing.com- 2011 has been a volatile year in terms of multiple dynamics brought into play in the e-commerce arena. The three key trends outlined by the study are: the continuing dominance of product research as decision-making tool, the growing influence of social networks and customer reviews and increasing in-store use of mobile phones to empower customers.
1. Product research as decision tool. The study of more than 1,000 online consumers found that 90% of shopping time is spent on product research, with Google providing the launch pad for most searches.
2. Advice in Social networks. While only 2% of respondents used social networking sites as their main research starting point, 13% said that Facebook influenced their buying behaviour. 36% of respondents used their mobile devices in store to compare prices with those published on Amazon and another 36% used sites other than Amazon as a source of price information.
3. Mobile phones help consumers find deals when in- store. Mobile phones and social media are predicted to grow in importance as more consumers use them for product research and shopping.