Social Commerce Trends Report
Key takeaways from Social Commerce Summit 2010
April 19-21, 2010

Each year, the Social Commerce Summit forced or “branded” way. Douglas Rushkoff,
brings together innovative brands and thought author of Get Back In the Box, first coined the
leaders to share best practices and trends in term “viral media,” which was meant as a type
social media. of media or message that evolves naturally,
is invited in by users, and replicates just like
At the 2010 event held in Austin, Texas, any type of information a user wants to share.
Mitch Joel, author of Six Pixels of Separation, It’s called “viral” because, like a virus, it feels
explained that social media is the first and natural, like it’s a part of the eco-system, and
only real medium where users create their own replicates as part of the natural system of
experiences. It’s the first channel where brands sharing. A virus gets invited into the body
have to force themselves in, because users because it looks and acts like a normal cell,
are in control, so they must “invite” them in; then it replicates just like a normal cell.
“my” Twitter experience is different from
“your” Twitter experience. Mitch is excited Today, consumers use social media in many
because marketing is finally back to being ways, including making a variety of purchasing
about real interactions between real people. decisions – from buying clothing and electron-
While companies are still in control of their ics to selecting insurance or a new bank. This
brand, the amplified consumer voice is equal paper uncovers the trends from this confer-
to the brand’s voice. ence and includes insights from some of the
thought leaders who attended.
The customer voice is a form of viral media,
TRENDS REPORT
meaning that it evolves naturally – not in a
Contents
Most social commerce begins with experimentation.............................................................................3
Consumers are closer than ever to the people who actually
create the products they buy and use...................................................................................................4
ROI varies, but it must always be measured..........................................................................................5
Social commerce can – and should – spread throughout
the entire business and across all channels...........................................................................................6
Search informs much of how people shop online..................................................................................6
Digital Millennials are changing shopping..............................................................................................8
To be successful, make the most of your unique influencers................................................................9
The potential downfall of social media? Privacy..................................................................................11
What will social commerce look like in a year?...................................................................................11
Your next steps.....................................................................................................................................11
Sources and contact information.........................................................................................................12
2

Most social commerce begins
with experimentation.
Bazaarvoice CMO Sam Decker encourages
organizations to “Be the conversation. Your
brand and the products you sell are a reflection
of the conversations that are happening out
there.” He outlines three roles companies
should take to facilitate conversations and
use them to improve products.
Bazaarvoice CMO Sam Decker advises brands
Be like a parent. Parents have commitment,
to be good parents, hosts and prospectors.
perspective and give guidance. Try new things,
learn, and realize that today is just one step in Social commerce evolves, according to
your evolution. Look at results as a moment Manish Mehta, VP Social Media and
in time. Focus on gathering data and content Community for Dell. He suggests there are
from your users. five phases of social commerce evolution.
Be a good host. Make it easy for your Experiment. The social web originally began
“guests” (consumers) to share their opinions as an experiment.
and meet others like them. Keep them
engaged, which will bring more people to Product. Soon, products were created to
the “party” (your site). When you facilitate facilitate social media, such as MySpace,
conversations online, you’ll help people bulletin boards, forums, and more.
make good purchase decisions, creating an Application. Companies such as Dell attached
asset that builds over time. This is different “social” to their products by adding customer
than what most traditional marketing does; reviews to products at dell.com. They were
you’re engaging people to help themselves able to measure increases in sales and
and others. other metrics with this application of social
Be a prospector. Look for gold. Start with media, so they continued to build out social
the basic, business-driving metrics such as communications throughout their business
number of site visits driven by user-generated Build-out. Once Dell gathered reviews,
content, sales conversion, and average order they shared them with other divisions
value. Then use customer participation to go to improve customer service and
beyond your site – ask for customer stories product development.
via Facebook, or put ratings information on
in-store fact tags. Spread this content to Connect and scale. Today, Dell and other
shoppers wherever they are, to help them brands work to connect all their social inputs,
regardless of where and how they shop. This is wherever consumers want to participate.
where true transformation occurs – beyond the They combine all inputs to build relationships
walls of your online community. and commerce, gain further insights, and
understand the entire customer experience.
3

In a similar way, golf and tennis retailer Golf- of branding between them – consumers must
smith learned a lot on its journey into social be close to the products and the people
media. When they launched their Facebook fan actually creating products. With the use of the
page in 2008, they didn’t focus on selling; their Internet today, those who produce products
page began as more of a brand and customer don’t have to be huge corporations; they can
service play. When they responded to custom- use social commerce to get input from, buy
er complaints on Facebook, Golfsmith learned from, and sell to others.
that those customers were more likely to come
Rushkoff points out that social media
back to Golfsmith.com.
promotes honesty and peer-to-peer
communication, letting users exchange
Today they use Facebook and Twitter for
products, goods and services – and opinions
customer feedback. For example, in 2009 they
– directly amongst themselves. This actually
asked customers to vote for their favorite de-
takes us back to the times of the real bazaar –
signs for holiday gift cards, and they have also
where trade and commerce were done face to
asked customers if they would use a mobile
face, among individual people – not between
application, to help Golfsmith determine if they
faceless corporations and consumers.
should create one.
“Social media speaks to the geeks,” he says.
And experimentation goes beyond the internet. “We know Google has the smartest, craziest
Google’s Sameer Samat noted that brands people working for them because their social
should also experiment with mobile to let media strategy shows us the geeks at the
consumers search for and find specific infor- middle. Social media is a shift from technology
mation, whether they’re in a store or on the and media that separate you from consumers
road. Google has seen an exponential jump in – social media brings you closer to the people
Google shopping queries from mobile devices. who actually use your products.”
Consumers are closer than Rushkoff advises keeping the people who
create products close to the people who
ever to the people who actually
use them. Marketers have to embrace and
create the products they buy encourage their true believers – far beyond just
and use. people who recommend your products. These
“Technology, media and branding create must be true believers of your culture – not
a problem for people who want to make your “brand” culture but your actual culture.
companies better; they distance companies For example, when Urban Outfitters customers
from real consumers,” said Douglas Rushkoff, ask questions about specific products online,
“and the mythology of a brand means that often the product designer will respond directly
products don’t have to be as good as they to the question. In addition, team members
used to be. In social commerce, where from Best Buy and Dell both said that they
consumers can share their experiences directly refer to customer reviews when developing
with other consumers – without the mythology new products or improving existing ones.
4

ROI varies, but it must always
be measured.
Just because social media is a new way of
communicating doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be
measured. Like any promotional or marketing
tactic, objectives must be set and tracked –
and they should ultimately track to bottom line
company goals.
Golfsmith tracks hard impact (dollars) and
soft impact (things like branding, staying
top of mind, which are harder to track) to
determine which social media they continue to
pursue. For example, they track all links from
Facebook and Twitter and look at customer
interactions on their site. To effectively track
soft impact, they developed a score card
which measures trends for traffic, sales, likes,
Get Back in the Box author Douglas
posts, customer services, mentions, retweets
Rushkoff says product creators must stay
and more across all their social networks.
close to product users.
Golfsmith recommends that brands tag all links
to user-generated content to understand how people – those who design and create the
people who read or contribute user-generated products – in the middle, but still close to
content interact with the site. For example, the customer. Ideally, every employee in the
Golfsmith found that those who interacted company stays very close to the customer.
with customer ratings had 11% higher revenue
per person, a 2% increase in AOV and a 9% Seth Greenberg from Intuit adds, “Give up the
increase in conversion. The most interesting idea that it’s not about the money. It is about
finding was that a full 18% of all Golfsmith the money. People are talking about you online
visitors interacted with customer Q&A or – it’s happening whether you’re involved or
reviews between January and April 2010. not; it’s okay to set goals, set a bar.”
Douglas Rushkoff contends that the goal of Manish Mehta from Dell advises companies
social media isn’t sales; it’s meant to build the not to get head-faked by “shiny objects.”
culture of your industry. It can start with the Keep your eyes on what’s important to your
culture in your company and extend to the business, and make decisions from this
culture of your customer, your shareholders, point. He also reminds brands to stay open to
your partners, and your competitors. But, different types of ROI. The ultimate challenge
ultimately, it’s the culture of the thing you do. in social media involves putting a value on
The new organizational chart for a genuinely relationships, networks and connections.
social organization puts the most competent
5

Google’s Sameer Samat encourages brands to think beyond their sites.
Social commerce can – and content to directly impact natural search,
mobile, and Google advertising results. Brands
should – spread throughout
can expose star ratings to searchers, put their
the entire business and
logos next to their reviews, and link directly
across all channels. back to the product page where a searcher
Social media is unique because anyone can can buy. This lets the consumer reviews
participate – much different than traditional gathered on the site help consumers who are
advertising. For example, Golfsmith gets their still just searching for products.
entire organization involved in social media.
Manish Mehta from Dell suggests that
They display their entire Twitter feed in their
companies embed “social” in every function
offices, so anyone can see what people are
of the organization, from sales to product
saying about Golfsmith at any time, and the
development. Embed social information and
appropriate people jump in to help customers
culture across the fabric of your business; it
in need. Golfsmith also uses customer reviews
shouldn’t just be about sales and marketing
and ratings in all types of marketing, and they
– get your products, support, and human
have looked at customer support questions
resources teams to think socially and
before and after the launch of their online Q&A
transparently, too.
solution to understand how online questions
and answers can help them reduce customer Search informs much of how
support calls. They also look for new ways people shop online.
to connect their social networks; today
Golfsmith’s Facebook page helps people More and more of today’s shoppers begin with
engage, then directs them to Golfsmith.com search – most of them with Google. 87% of
to make purchases. internet users have used the internet to browse
research and compare products in the last
Google’s Sameer Samat recommends year (eMarketer Report, March 2010). 45%
that brands leverage the entire shopping of in store purchases are influenced by online
ecosystem – multiply the value of all research (Forrester 2009). Sameer Samat,
content — by making it available beyond Director of Product Management for Google,
the organization’s site. For example, Google highlighted three industry trends that drive
Product Reviews Program is the first program Google’s strategy: online-to-store shopping,
that lets online brands use their full review mobile, and social.
6

Many people are first researching online, then one click. Innovations in mobile have only
going to a physical store to make purchases. just begun.
Retailers should think cross-channel;
Google realizes that “social” is just the web
consumers will interact with any channel
catching up with life. Each minute, more than
they want, when they want. Many retailers
24 hours of content is uploaded to YouTube,
have divided brick-and-mortar and online
and 270,000 words are written every minute
responsibilities within their organizations,
on Blogger. If you do a query on Twitter
which contradicts this trend. The linear
every morning on “What to wear,” you’ll get
shopping trend is being shifted; consumers
responses every few seconds. Even if a brand
expect a more cohesive experience. Innovative
isn’t mentioned, participants are still talking
retailers are tearing down some of these walls,
about products.
not letting “their organizational chart show up
in their marketing or product development,” Sameer suggests making these trends part of
according to Sameer. a company’s operational plans. For example,
retailers should make sure they have 3G
Aligned with the localization trend is the
mobile coverage in all stores, making it easy
promise of mobile: the ability to target users
for customers to bring information from the
on a one-to-one basis. A mobile phone is
web directly into store aisles. He also suggests
not shared, it’s usually on and with you at all
that UPC codes for products be prominently
times. It knows a lot about you, your calendar,
displayed, so people with mobile phones can
your social network, and it’s location-aware: it
easily scan them to get online information with
knows where you are.
new smart phone applications.
Currently two thirds of the world’s population
However, Mitch Joel believes that, with the
have mobile phones, and smart phones
increasing connectedness of everyone, search
are expected to eclipse PC sales by 2012.
will actually be less pervasive in shopping.
Google’s internal data has shown a 3000%+
He believes people will get information from
growth in mobile “shopping” queries over the
friends, then purchase immediately, such as
last three years; mobile queries to Google now
through their smart phones.
exceed online queries in some geographies,
and the number of queries issued to Google To illustrate this point, he spoke of a dinner
Maps products has grown substantially. he had with two other bald men. They started
Retailers are testing in-store traffic based on talking about how they shaved their heads,
online traffic in specific DMAs. and one of them suggested a razor that has
a vacuum in it. One of them found it on
Google has added click-to-call ads on mobile
Amazon.com via his smart phone and
devices, which is good for local businesses
purchased it immediately.
because the phone knows the closest location
for the user, so he or she can call with
7

Resource Interactive’s Kelly Mooney interviews four typical millennials.
Digital Millennials are Millennials explain that they’re
always connected.
changing shopping
Millennials are ages 10-28, and they make a » They all prefer Facebook and use it a lot;
none of them regularly use Twitter.
$200 billion contribution to our economy each
year. They have become our largest generation, » They use Facebook mostly for socializing;
bigger than the baby boomers; there are about they are not sure they would shop
82,900,000 Millennials. Resource Interactive via Facebook.
has researched Millennials since 2006 and has » Privacy could be the downfall of Facebook;
uncovered key defining traits of millennials. it’s very important to have control over
who sees your profile.
Defining traits of Millennials
» They send more than 100 texts per day;
» Perpetually connected – they are never they are constantly texting.
without their phones and are heavily » In large college classes, students will see
engaged with social networks. hundreds of laptops open to Facebook;
» Multi-tasking and “productive” – they are some are watching Hulu.com with one
watching TV, homework and online at once. earbud speaker in, while “listening” to
» Filtering for immediacy and control – they’re a lecture.
smart about marketing and will filter it out.
The recession has had an impact
» Self-expressive yet assimilative – they on Millennials.
express individuality, but it’s also very
important to be part of the group. » The recession has made some of them
not want to buy as much as they did in
» Optimistic and self-entitled – they’ve grown
up in very affluent times until just the last the past.
few years. » They’re spending less today; waiting for
sales and coupons.
Kelly Mooney interviewed a panel of four » Their parents are giving them less money
Millennials at the Social Commerce Summit, than they did in the past.
made up of males and females from age » The 13-year-old who still lives at home
13 to 23. must work harder to earn money from
her parents now.
8

» None of them have their own credit cards; take core business values and blow them out
they’re fearful of credit cards and are more exponentially. According to Siegel, “We don’t
comfortable with debit cards. If they don’t have a logo. We don’t have a style guide. We
have the money for something, they don’t have a spirit.” Their social strategies reflect this
buy it. They see their parents have a hard spirit and get their customers involved. Here
time keeping up with their credit cards so are some guidelines Dmitri suggests.
they are less likely to use them.
There are some people you want to be
Social media influences their shopping and friends with, and some you don’t, just like in
purchase decisions. any social situation. Urban Outfitters started
out by featuring some of its customers on
» They research purchases carefully, asking its blog – people they or their customers
their friends and family, and customer “want to be friends with.” They interview their
reviews. Some post questions on Facebook customers to draw in others who share the
to their network about products. same lifestyle/style.
» If they are “fans” of a brand on Facebook,
too many messages from a brand can But don’t be a snob – don’t ignore people.
become annoying. To get all types of consumers involved – not
just the fashionistas or style mavens who
» Some of them use Foursquare or Gowalla;
regularly review products. Urban Outfitters ran
they may be interested in getting offers
a contest where consumers submitted images
when they “check in.”
of love, so anyone could submit something
They have unique interactions with media. creative. The company also embraces different
uses of its products – photo reviews show
» They watch most of their TV on Hulu.com; the way people actually wear Urban Outfitters
they only watch “real” TV for sports. clothes, even paired with clothing and
» None of them have magazine subscriptions; accessories that does not come from Urban
they get most of their information and Outfitters. Their products don’t really come to
news online. life until people show exactly how they actually
wear it in the real world.
To be successful, Be a good listener. This is basic. Urban
make the most of your Outfitters gets about 1,500 reviews per week;
unique influencers. they read them and dig into them. You also
see what it’s like to be your own customer.
Social media levels the playing field,
For example, one woman said that a shirt she
making consumer contributions as loud as
purchased was too big, but she cut it and wore
– or sometimes louder than – the corporate
it off the shoulder, and submitted a photo of
marketing message. Dmitri Siegel, Executive
her new creation. This gives Urban Outfitters
Director of Marketing, Urban Outfitters, shared
a relevant data point about how the product is
how this unique brand – with independent,
actually used.
creative consumers – uses social media to
9

Ask good questions. If you put a good Music can really set the mood. Urban
question out, you’ll be amazed at what you Outfitters has Music Mondays on Twitter,
get. For example, last year Urban Outfitters giving away hundreds of thousands of songs
did a “lo-fi, high style” sweepstakes/contest, each month; it’s a top topic on Twitter each
where customers shared the cool things they week. They usually feature unsigned bands,
had created for cheap. When Urban Outfitters and play these songs in their stores, too,
started getting photographs from their which creates a sense of discovery in the
customers, they saw that they are beautiful store. Urban Outfitters believes that if someone
and creative. Today, when Urban Outfitters recommends good music to you, their level of
mashes up their own professional photos credibility goes up.
with those submitted by customers, even the
Be spontaneous. Urban Outfitters shares live
marketing team can’t tell the difference – which
links to their in-store events, so customers can
is exactly as it should be. Urban Outfitters’
watch even if they’re across the country.
customers are creative and inspire Dmitri and
the design team. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Anybody
can be cool, but awesome takes practice.
Make some introductions. Urban Outfitters
Social media is a chatty medium; be authentic
added community Q&A to their site, which
to your voice.
created a good format for introducing
customers to one another; they now get about Be vulnerable – share information to
400 questions each week. Other customers get information. When Urban Outfitters
as well as Urban Outfitters designers respond. encouraged customers to send photos of
The more people you can get involved in the their mothers as part of a Mother’s Day
conversation, the better the experience. contest, their team members sent in their
own photos, too.
Stop talking about yourself so much. Being
social allows you to let your customer be the Keep in touch. These relationships have real
voice for awhile; be quiet, ask questions, and value – keep them going. Keep up with the
see what they have to share. people you have interacted with.
You need a good party spot. It must be It’s less about numbers; more about one-
free to participate. For example, Urban to-one connections. Social media can’t be
Outfitters has often unsigned bands perform measured solely by number of people who
in its Backlot, their back parking lot behind a potentially see the information, like traditional
flagship store, and they stage similar events advertising is measured. The deep connections
around the country. They’ve been doing these with individuals build over time and create an
events for years, so now tens of thousands annuity that continues to grow.
of people watch them through their live
broadcasting. During and after the events,
they feature cool people they met in their
blog and on Twitter.
10

The potential downfall of social What will social commerce
media? Privacy. look like in a year?
Users must be able to control who sees their The third annual Social Commerce Summit
information, and brands must be responsible in lets us look back over the years to see the
data sharing and usage. true evolution of social commerce. Two years
ago, topics revolved mostly around retail
Manish Mehta from Dell claims that the big,
and customer ratings. Today’s brands are
scary risk of social media could be privacy.
taking social commerce – including all social
Marketers must be mindful not to blindly
interactions with consumers – seriously.
promote social commerce growth at the
Companies are learning to relate and act more
expense of privacy (or even the perception
as people, breaking down inauthentic walls of
of loss of privacy).
“marketing-speak.” And they’re experimenting
A panel of four Millennials – digitally-enabled and building best practices along the way.
people between the ages of 10 and 28 – said
The 2010 Social Commerce Summit reflects
that they must be able to control who sees
a moment in time. We’ll keep you posted on
their information on social networks such as
what continues to evolve.
Facebook. They are also reticent to share
details about how they spend their money and Your next steps.
are fearful of credit cards, partially due to the
fear of identity theft. These insights should answer some questions,
but raise even more. Bazaarvoice is the world
leader in social commerce, serving top brands
across a huge variety of industries. Visit us
at www.bazaarvoice.com and schedule a
demo, where we’ll help you understand how to
connect to consumers, build engagement, and
drive measurable return on investment.
11

Sources and » Who are Digital Millennials and How
are They Changing Shopping? – a panel
contact information
of Millennials
Presentations excerpted in this paper came Interviewed by Kelly Mooney, CXO,
from the following sessions at the 2010 Social Resource Interactive
Commerce Summit, April 19-21, 2010. For Twitter: @pkmooney
more information on this and future events, Site: resourceinteractive.com
visit socialcommercesummit.com and
socialcommercesummit.co.uk.
» The Social rEvolution at TurboTax:
Friendcasting the age of media anarchy
Seth Greenberg, Director of National
» From Participation to Transformation
Media and Digital Marketing, Intuit
Sam Decker, CMO, Bazaarvoice
Twitter: @sethg
Twitter: @samdecker
Site: linkedin.com/in/sethgreenberg
Email: sam.decker@bazaarvoice.com
» Social to the Core: How New Media -
» How Urban Outfitters Makes the Most of
its Unique Influencers
Unlike Marketing - Forces You to be
Dmitri Siegel, Executive Director
Competent Again
of Marketing, Urban Outfitters
Douglas Rushkoff, author,
Twitter: @dddmitri
Get Back in the Box
Site: dmitrisiegel.com
Twitter: @rushkoff
Site: rushkoff.com » Organizing the World’s Information
for Shoppers
» The Bottom Line: Measuring Social
Sameer Samat, Director of
Media to Deliver Business Value
Product Management, Google
Manish Mehta, VP Social Media
Site: linkedin.com/pub/
and Community, Dell
sameersamat/0/6b/530
Twitter: @Manish@dell.com
Site: huffingtonpost.com/manish-mehta
» How Golfsmith measures ROI
Jamey Maki, Director of E-Commerce
Twitter: @golfsmithhq
Email: jamey.maki@golfsmith.com
12