[tweetlink]" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Consumerism has recently found a new place on social media with social media buy buttons. Last summer, social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter announced that they would feature social media buy buttons. One example was when AMC used the button to offer $30 gift cards to its theaters. Last December Facebook announced several other transaction-centered buttons they would be adding to the site.
How Social Media Buy Buttons Work
So how do these social media buy buttons work? When you click the button inside an app, you’re then prompted to enter your credit card information. Essentially the buy button allows consumers to purchase a product without having to go directly to the vendor’s website – they can make the transaction right from the social media app itself.
Facebook and Twitter aren’t the only platforms taking advantage of social media buy button. Pinterest and Instagram have even hopped on the bandwagon as well, but what do buy buttons look like on these sites? Instagram’s decision to add buy buttons meant an interruption in the typical flow of scrolling through pictures. Pinterest held a unique position with an average price of purchase of $50, the highest of any other social media platform. One study showed that 93% of Pinterest users plan their purchases with the platform. Buyable pins on Pinterest were officially announced on their blog and described as blue Buy It buttons.
With every new feature or technology comes pros and cons. We compiled some of the best and worst aspects of the social media buy button.
Pros
[tweetlink]" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer">Social media buy buttons make online commerce more seamless than ever. If you see a product you want, you don’t even have to visit the product’s website to purchase it.
Pinterest, Google, Twitter and Facebook can save credit card information, which takes away the annoyance of entering all those numbers every time you want to make a new purchase.
Social media buy buttons make finding new products we want easier than ever. “A lot of people use a social media site to get ideas and inspiration for what they might like to add to their life,” says consumer psychologist Kit Yarrow, author of “Decoding the New Consumer Mind.”
“There’s a lot of coveting and drooling, and now that coveting and drooling can be turned instantaneously into having, and that’s irresistible, especially to a lot of millennials.”
Cons
When a platform such as Pinterest is as inexperienced as it is in the online commerce market, the risk of issues such as running out of product is something to keep in mind.
While the ease of credit card information being stored may sound appealing at first, it does have the potential to increase security threats. Always remember to use caution when entering credit card information online.
The ease of buying online is something to be aware of for impulse shoppers – think twice before you click purchase.
Have you ever used social media buy buttons? Are they worth the potential risk? Let us know in the comments.
