Social Networking Sites' Meager Promise for Retail Marketing

[mandy]

Online retailers looking to push sales through popular social networking sites like MySpace and Facebook shouldn't set their hopes very high. If retailers want to take advantage of the social aspects of the Web, they should do so at their own Internet outlets, according to a recent report. Niche retailers stand to gain the most from social and community sites...

Social and community networks may be great hangouts for Web surfers who shop but not so great for retailers looking for virtual "ka-chings."...

"The majority of online shoppers who have used social and community sites while researching and purchasing do not believe that such sites affected their purchase decisions, and few online shoppers said they spend incrementally more due to their use of social and community sites," states the report...

full article: http://ecommercetimes.com/story/jtHBVsJH...ting.xhtml

A related article:

  Online social marketing is growing, but the budgets supporting it aren’t, says a new report from JuptierResearch. Most social marketers surveyed don’t plan major budget increases in the near future and several of the largest spenders on such tactics last year say they’ll scale back this year...

full article: http://www.internetretailer.com/dailyNews.asp?id=22992