Gartner: Der Einzelhandel kann Social Networks aufgrund des immensen Traffics nicht mehr ignorieren

Laut dem IT-Marktforschungs- und Beratungsunternehmen Gartner müssen Einzelhändler sich angesichts der rasant steigenden Nutzerzahlen in Online-Netzwerken engagieren, wenn sie diese Zielgruppen erreichen wollen. Zwar haben bislang eher ausschließlich jüngere Gesellschaftsschichten sich in Social Networks engagiert, es lässt sich jedoch allmählich eine Öffnung hin zu breiteren Bevölkerungsgruppen erkennen, die auch für Einzelhändler wichtig sind, so zum Beispiel Karrierenetzwerke, Shopping-Netzwerke und Arbeitnehmergruppen.

Laut Gartner-Analyst Hung LeHong kann das Engagement des Einzelhandels von der eigenen Social Community zur Feedbackerfassung über die Erstellung einer Marketing-Präsenz in großen Online-Netzwerken bis hin zur einfachen Beobachtung der Diskussionen über die eigene Marke reichen.

Zehn Dinge, die Einzelhändler über soziale Netzwerke wissen sollten, finden Sie in untenstehendem Originaltext.

Stamford, Conn., May 1, 2008 — With the increased consumer traffic that social networks are generating on the internet, retailers must have a position on social networks, according to Gartner, Inc. Although social networks have tended to centre on younger demographic groups, they are expanding into wider groups that matter to a broader base of retailers such as career-based social networks, shopping-based social networks, and employee groups.

“Until recently, retailers considered social networks relevant only for the youth market, meaning that many have largely ignored them,” said Hung LeHong, research vice president at Gartner. “However, as social networks expand to embrace ever-wider demographic groups, retailers need to ensure that they have a position on them.”

Mr. LeHong said that these positions can range from creating their own social community to gather feedback, to creating a marketing presence on large social networks, or to simply observing how brands are discussed and perceived. Gartner has created a list of the top ten things retailers should know about social networks and what action to take.

Social sites can include features such as discussion forums and consumer reviews. A social platform is a large public site that enables users to do the same things as on a social site, but also creates a platform that encourages and eases the development of applications, widgets and mashups. What a retailer is capable of doing on a social network will be determined by the platform's capabilities. Whether a retailer requires a social site, platform or both depends on where the target market resides and which social vehicles are required.

Gartner estimates that an individual is able to participate in one to three social networks in any meaningful way. Because there are only so many social networks to participate in, consumers are starting to shift to the large centres of gravity (for example, MySpace and Facebook in North America). Analysts believe that the social network market has not yet settled, so retailers should be cautious with their investments on any one social network.

Retailers should view social networks as a lead-generation channel just as they would search engines, review sites, and price comparison sites. Lead-generation vehicles range from banners, to search term bidding, to application programming interfaces (APIs) that enable social networks to access the retailers’ consumers.