Social media "barely tapped" by online retailers

Industry players need to move their internet stores to where the customers are, it has been suggested.
Online retailers need to take greater advantage of the benefits of social media, an industry expert has said, as consumers are spending an increasing amount of time on pages of sites such as Facebook and Twitter.
"E-commerce on social media platforms … is in an early stage," senior analyst at eMarketer Jeffrey Grau remarked, adding that web-based business on such channels "has barely tapped" the potential offered through people conducting more and more of their "regular activities" in these areas.
He went on to say that the leading brands in the e-commerce industry are aware that they cannot wait for users to find them, but instead need to "place their virtual storefronts where their customers congregate".
Mr Grau further commented that this knowledge implies that ecommerce is in a state of evolution, replacing a transactional experience in favour of a social one.
Earlier this month, companies were advised by Rachel Pasqua of iCrossing that social media can be combined with search engine optimisation to give users more information on topics of interest, through the use of iPhone app Say What?.

http://www.weboptimiser.com/