Pinterest tops Facebook, Twitter in engagement

Jun 14, 2012

Washington--U.S. consumers say that they already follow more retail companies on Pinterest, the relatively new bulletin board-style social media site, than they do on Facebook and Twitter, according to a new study on social and mobile commerce.

The study, a joint research project of the National Retail Federation?s Shop.org, comScore Inc. and strategy and management consulting firm The Partnering Group, shows that on average, U.S. online consumers follow 9.3 retail companies on Pinterest, compared to 6.9 on Facebook and 8.5 on Twitter.

?Pinterest has given retailers another channel to ?listen? to and interact with both existing and new customers, telling an ongoing visual story through images of their products and their brand ?spirit,? a story that customers can then tell again to their friends and family members,? Shop.org Executive Director Vicki Cantrell said.

Overall, the survey showed that 38 percent of online consumers follow retailers through one or more social networking sites.

When it comes to what entices consumers to follow retailers on social media platforms, ?finding good deals? is still the top reason though its importance has dropped slightly as compared to last year.

A total of 51 percent of survey-takers said they follow a retailer for deals and coupons, down from 58 percent last year. Other reasons for follows include: product information (43 percent), the chance to read or post comments about merchandise or services (36 percent), finding information about events (34 percent) or current trends and ideas (31 percent), to view photos or videos including ?how-to?s? and styling tips (30 percent), and to obtain expert opinions (27 percent.)

The study also examined mobile commerce, how consumers use their smartphones and tablets to shop.

According to the study, one-third of those who own smartphones have shared their location with retailers via their mobile devices, using location-based services including Groupon Now!, FourSquare and Facebook. Men are more likely to share their location than woman, 40 percent versus 25 percent, respectively, as are consumers ages 18 to 34.? A total of 46 percent of those in this age group have shared their location, compared to 22 percent of those ages 35 to 54.

In addition, the survey showed that smartphones are used more for social reasons when consumers are shopping, such as contacting family and friends about items, while tablet computers are utilized mainly for comparison shopping and to actually purchase merchandise.

A total of 37 percent of smartphone owners who shop online say their use their mobile device to take pictures of products while 34 percent said they send the pictures to friends and 33 percent text or call friends and family about specific products while shopping.

ComScore conducted the 2012 ?Social and Mobile Commerce Study? in March, surveying 1,507 online U.S. consumers.

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