The survey shows a strong willingness by consumers to conduct e-commerce transactions, including checking out directly on Instagram
New survey shows great opportunities for social media e-commerce. Source: shutterstock.com
The Deutsche Bank Research team partnered with Primary Research to conduct a survey of 500 US Instagram users (aged 18+) who engage in the platform at least once a month. The goal of the survey was to quantify the potential opportunity for direct purchases through social media.
Here are some of the key takeaways:
- Facebook and Instagram lead in commercial usage. When asked about which platforms respondents have used to “click on a post, sponsored link, or ad”, Facebook (70%) and Instagram (59%) rank the highest among platforms surveyed in terms of commercial intent. Pinterest ranks No. 3 in the survey, which makes sense given the intent users have when using the platform.
- Clear intent to use Instagram Checkout. A significant proportion of those surveyed are inclined to complete purchases and repeat purchases on Checkout. 43% of respondents said they were either “very likely” (18%) or “somewhat likely” (25%) to purchase products on Instagram using the feature. Of those that had tried Checkout, 83% said they were either “very likely” (60%) or “somewhat likely” (23%) to try again in the next six months.
- Ease of use remains the primary driver for Instagram Checkout; limited payment options is the key deterrent. 15% of users surveyed said they had purchased something via Instagram Checkout, but 74% said they had not used the feature. Of the users who had used Checkout, the primary reason was “ease of use” (39% of the users), followed by “it has the brands I like” at 24%. For those who had tried Checkout but not actually purchased, the main reasons included finding the item cheaper elsewhere (18%) and not wanting to give payment information to Instagram/Facebook (17%).
- Users interact with ads. While users trust WhatsApp and Pinterest the most, Facebook and Instagram users follow the highest number of brands/products/companies. Our survey shows that in the past 12 months, 70% of Facebook users and 59% of Instagram users have clicked on a sponsored link/ad for a product.
- Promoted posts have been effective. In the past 12 months, 56% of the users surveyed who had clicked on a promoted post/ad actually followed through and purchased something via a promoted posting on Snapchat, versus 53% on Instagram and 54% and Facebook.
- Pinterest is most relevant and most trusted platform. Ads are most relevant on Pinterest, with 36% of the users surveyed saying ads are very relevant, followed by Facebook at 34% and Instagram at 32%. Moreover, users trust the promoted products in the ads most on Pinterest (32%), followed by Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat (all at 30%).
