Social commerce via Facebook represents a multi-billion pound opportunity for businesses in the UK over the next three years, with Facebook expected to take around 6.1% of the £50.34 billion UK consumers spend on e-commerce purchases every year.
Research released by Ecwid shows that Facebook commerce (f-commerce) could create over £3.1bn in revenue for UK businesses over the next three years. Currently, only 4% of GB consumers have purchased goods from Facebook, but the research showed that 40% would be happy to buy goods from Facebook if it delivered a similar shopping experience to an online store. Furthermore, 25% said that they would prefer to shop on Facebook than eBay as it potentially offered them a more personal way to buy and sell goods.
Customers get no value in liking a business on Facebook
The research then went on to reveal that despite many businesses having a presence on Facebook, many consumers weren't currently seeing much value in them. In fact, a huge 85% of consumers stated they currently didn't feel that they received any real value when they 'like' a brand's Facebook page.
However, 57% said they would be more likely to 'like' a company's Facebook page if they were able to receive special offers and discount codes to use on their online store.
Based on recent figures from Ecwid, the average value of one 'like' for brands with successful f-commerce stores can be worth up to $21.49 in sales per year. This indicates that significant opportunities are available to businesses to monetise their Facebook presence.
Ruslan Fazylev, CEO and Founder of Ecwid stated, "While Facebook commerce may still be in its infancy, this study shows that it has the potential to grow massively. Many businesses now have a presence on Facebook but relatively few have been able to successfully monetise it to date. It is now actually quite easy to set up a store on Facebook which offers the same experience as a traditional online store. Furthermore, businesses also have the benefits of a vast social network on their virtual doorsteps. Those businesses that embrace f-commerce in the future are set to see a significant revenue boost. In fact, our figures show that businesses that sell from an f-commerce store alongside their traditional website have generated an additional 17.7% of revenue."
