A new research report from Hill & Knowlton titled "Future of Commerce" discusses the influence that social media and Web 2.0 technologies has on our online shopping habits.
According to Joshua Reynolds, worldwide technology practice director for Hill & Knowlton and co-author of the report, "Online retailing is being profoundly impacted by the integration of social media into what historically has been a transactional experience."
But not all age groups are influenced equally.
Social media is "Word of Mouth 2.0" for younger generations who are predominantly influenced by social media channels: 27 percent of Gen Y are influenced by an "online community or blog" compared to 19 percent of Gen X and only 9 percent of Baby Boomers.
Only 9% of Baby Boomers?
This was quite surprising and I'm not sure anything can be concluded from this statistic alone - I'd like to know more about the questions that were used to come up with this assumption. Are Boomers less subject to "Group Think" or "Group Persuasion"? Doubtful. By the way, for an interesting take this read "Does Social Media Produce Groupthink?". (be sure to read the comments as they are just as interesting as the article).
The research also suggests the "most effective way to reach consumers online is with highly-targeted campaigns tailored to engage micro communities that form around common interests. One-size-fits-all marketing is not a viable communications approach in today's PR 2.0 world."
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