What fuels social platforms? Content. As all of the impulse purchases that come with it. major platforms have become dominated by visual content – images and videos – and as more and Finally, while social channels tend to gain adoption more brands occupy outposts on social platforms, (and notoriety) by younger audiences first, it’s also it’s no surprise that an increasing amount of social interesting to observe that social has taken a broad content features products. swath of people from discovery to purchase. In 65% of those who went on to But is all of this branded content noise? Or is it a purchase something they means to introduce people to things they never WE ASKED: discovered on social did so at a knew they needed in their lives? It turns out, What action did you take after discovering a product in later date, either online or in-store. a brand’s social media post? across generations, it’s the latter. Over three- quarters of people report that content on social 9% 11% has caused them to buy. However, consumer purchase behavior suggests that attempting to 14% evaluate social solely as a direct-response channel undervalues social’s contributions to selling. In fact, 65% of those who went on to purchase something 21% 44% they discovered on social did so at a later date, either online or in-store. Over 20% of those people Bought immediately Have never purchased purchased in-store — which is truly impressive. a product they’ve Bought later online seen in a social post While no one would be faulted for thinking that a Bought later in a Other reaction social user is a digital buyer, the data suggests that physical store social can add foot traffic and all the benefits of 5 | Curalate Consumer Survey: Social Content is the New Storefront November 2017