Social networks are already a fairly well established part of marketing, customer service and advertising – the next stage will see them muscling in on transactions.

Hype is building around social commerce, following the growth of sites like Groupon which allows consumers to save money by buying in groups. In a different approach to the trend, fashion etailer Asos has also announced its plans for a transactional Facebook site to be launched later this month.

Groupon and similar sites like Wahanda currently focus quite heavily on the leisure industry, selling spa days, beauty treatments and hotel rooms. But the retail side is growing and the potential is obvious – at this stage it is worth keeping an eye on how these sites are being used and working out how they could benefit a particular brand. At the very least they can drive more traffic to a website, and provide another channel through which to interact with consumers.

The networks are playing a growing role in helping people decide what to buy. There’s a variety of ways for Facebook users to share which products they buy or like – and people often listen to and trust their Facebook friends more than information from people or companies they don’t know. Trusting a friend’s testimony more than a company’s marketing material is nothing new, but the scale and speed with which word-of-mouth can now happen makes it important to pay attention to this trend.

John Bovill, group IT director at parent company of Oasis, Warehouse and Karen Millen, Aurora Fashions, says what matters is still the core business and how good a brand is. “But the speed that they can get exposure is much quicker than in traditional markets. This comprises a threat to traditional ways of doing things.

“But it doesn’t change the fact that what you really need is good people and good ideas to grow a business.”

He advises other retailers to stay aware of how this trend develops, and to use the tools as much as possible because these are the online spaces that their customers are using to discuss things. The opportunity is there to use these sites to become known outside traditional markets, and of course increase online sales – those who keep up and use the tools imaginatively are likely to see benefits.

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