Discovery Commerce – a major consumer shopping trend you don’t want to miss

Reading Time: 4 minutes A major shift in consumer behavior impacting local jewelers is happening right before our eyes. And it’s probably not the one you’re thinking. You see, since COVID started, everyone has been thinking about going virtual, ecommerce and booking private consultations. And while all that is well and good, there’s an even bigger shift happening. One that you can only leverage on social media. Introducing Discovery Commerce The shift in consumer behavior is what Facebook is calling Discovery Commerce. What Discovery Commerce means is that instead of setting out to go shopping on a given time or day – the way we traditionally think of shopping – people are now shopping all the time, especially on social media. In other words, shopping is part of our everyday lives. If you’ve ever had the experience of buying something on your phone you weren’t planning on buying when you woke up that morning, you know what I mean. The cool thing is that this shift in consumer behavior means people are discovering new brands on social media platforms every day. For jewelers, this means reaching consumers before they intend to shop. Facebook recently released a few stats that may startle you:

• 74% of consumers discover new brands or products on social media, compared to just 55% on search
• 86% of shoppers who use Facebook weekly ultimately purchased a product they discovered on the platform

These numbers reinforce what we already know: more people are discovering their next jeweler on social media. How Jewelers Can Take Advantage of This Shift Most jewelers are already investing significant amounts of time and effort on their social media activity. But organic social media activity usually isn’t enough to generate results. In order to really take advantage of this new trend, you need an ad budget. The reason? Facebook’s ad tools heavily leverage personalization, meaning they serve ads to people based on what they’re doing. Using personalization the right way is the difference between making consumers feel stalked versus making them feel like the experience was natural and easy. Personalization helps you connect with people who are most likely to engage with your business, which is what you want out of advertising in the first place. Other tips for getting in on the Discovery Commerce trend include:

• Making sure your website loads quickly and is mobile friendly
• Utilizing mobile-first formats when possible
• Making sure it’s clear how people get to the next step, whether that’s checking out online or scheduling a time in the store
• Being responsive to customer service requests