A New Era of Social Shopping Has Arrived

In China, people spend an average of 1-hour shopping on their phones – that’s 3x higher than shoppers from the United States. The reason can be attributed to the rise of ‘Integrated Ecosystem Shopping’ – where shopping is embedded in social, and social has evolved into a multi-dimensional space, touching all aspects of consumers lives.

In her TED Talk, ‘How China is Changing the Future of Shopping’, Angela Wang explains this phenomenon by describing how Chinese mobile customers bounce from a group chat via text, to a product site, add an item to their cart, check out, start scrolling through Instagram, swipe up on an Instagram story to get to another product, and add to cart again, knowing that by noon the next morning all their purchases will be waiting for them at their desks at work.

Social Shopping is changing the landscape of digital marketing at an especially breakneck speed in China. Online shopping in China is no longer a linear path, but a much more nuanced customer journey, especially from a mobile perspective.

Social Shopping is Shaping the North American Marketing Landscape

This same social shopping journey is being adopted by Canadian consumers. They have the power to shop when and how they want from the comfort of their phones. Always-on live chat and customer reviews make getting information quick and easy. Ultra convenience is the norm and the expectation. This type of shopping experience offers numerous commercial opportunities for brands and advertisers to engage with their target audiences.

Is Your Business Ready to Compete in the Social Shopping Era? 

As a business, it’s important to look at your business through this new shopping lens and be where your customer is at virtually every touchpoint in the digital space – whether mobile or desktop. Has your business ensured it’s ready to take on creating the content required?

Contact us here if you’re looking to create relevant and engaging content for all areas of the customer journey. Our FSTOP Studios will help with custom content creation and a digital strategy that ensures your business is addressing what your customer needs and providing them with the right information at the right time.

Reference: Angela Wang’s TED Talk: ‘How China is changing the future of shopping’