35% of Millennials Are Likely To Use A “Buy” Button on Facebook According to a New Study From the University of Massachusetts Center for Marketing Research

PALO ALTO, CA, USA, December 1, 2014 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Millennials are embracing social commerce and putting their own mark on it. There is evidence that the companies/brands that Millennials like, follow and pin changes with time as does their preferred way to purchase products. Smart phones and tablets are central to social influenced purchasing. Older Millennials (27-34 years old) engage with businesses on Twitter while the youngest Millennials (13-17 years old) are least likely to engage with businesses through social networking sites. If Facebook and Twitter move ahead with their plans to add “buy” buttons, there is interest among this group. For social commerce, that addition could be a game changer.

These was among the key findings of the latest social media study conducted by Dr. Nora Ganim Barnes, Ph.D., Senior Fellow and Research Co-chair of the Society for New Communications Research and Director of the Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. The study was Co-authored by Ava M. Lescault, MBA and Associate Director of the Center for Marketing Research at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth

This study is the result of a nationwide electronic and physical survey. Qualification for participation required the respondent to be a member of the Millennial generation, using the popular demographic for this group of having been born between 1980-2000. The surveys were hosted on online and the URL was shared online by channels including, but not limited to, email, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. All data was collected during the fall of 2014. A total of 405 surveys provide the basis for this report.

Key findings of this study include:

• Thirty-five percent of Millennials are likely to use a “buy” button on Facebook and 24% are likely to use one on Twitter, should those be provided by the platforms.

• Facebook declines but is still the most popular platform among Millennials when looking to interact with companies/brands online. While their numbers have fallen slightly, Twitter and Pinterest have made modest gains. Fifty-five percent of respondents currently like at least one brand on Facebook (down from 7% last year). Twitter has 29% (up from 6%) and Pinterest has 16% (up from 5%) of Millennials following or pinning a company/brand.

• Nike is the most liked/followed brand on Facebook and Twitter for the second straight year.

• Hair, Beauty and Apparel continues to be the category in which most products are purchased by Millennials across all platforms studied.

• Relative to users of larger platforms, Pinterest again has the highest online sales conversion rate. Fifty-one percent of Pinterest users make their purchases online exclusively compared to 16% of Facebook users and 35% of Twitter users. The user-friendly, highly visual design of the website facilitates information search and evaluation of alternatives. Pinterest makes the transaction process flow with optimal ease for consumers.

• Forty-eight percent of Millennials use smart phones to make purchases online and 21% use tablets.

“It is estimated that Millennials will have a combined purchasing power of $2.45 trillion worldwide by 2015. And $30 billion of that will be in the US,” stated Barnes. "It is exciting to see this cohort of 76 million strong change the way business in done."

“This is a group is mobile, connected and multi-platform/multi-channel users and their purchasing is socially influenced."

A full copy of the new research report as well as an info graphic version of the results can be downloaded at:
http://www.umassd.edu/cmr/studiesresearch/

For questions or inquiries regarding corporate speaking engagements Barnes can be reached at nbarnes@umassd.edu.

Press release courtesy of Online PR Media: http://bit.ly/1CycJjj

Gina Hernandez
Society for New Communications Research
(408) 825-9288
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