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Social shopping is just the latest solution to a constant problem for online retailers and shoppers. Many shoppers aren’t sure what to buy, but they know they won’t find it on the sites of mainstream retailers. The social shopping sites hope to gamble that enthusiasm into advertising revenue, once they attract enough visitors to go back to merchants with a better sales pitch.

The main trends in Social Shopping now-a-days are:

• Control rests with the consumers: Online research puts the consumer in control of the research experience.
• Research starts with search, but happens on brand and retailer sites:  Search continues to be a starting point for research that is a majority of shoppers begin research with a search engine.
• Consumers expect social tools for their research experience, engaging mostly with the basics: Shoppers are reading more customer reviews to be confident judging a product.
• Consumers seek a variety of voices throughout the research experience: Consumers trust reviews to corroborate other research/voices.
• Facebook is the social platform for researching/shopping: Facebook features show the most potential to inform buying behavior.

LivingSocial and Groupon:

• LivingSocial offers a new deal each day to its members who subscribe via email. After subscribing to one or more of its 580+ markets, users receive a daily e-mail presenting the city’s deal for that day. Members are offered discounts of 50-90% on experiences in their area. Once a deal has been purchased, members are e-mailed their redemption vouchers the following business day, around 5 a.m. local time. In addition, purchasing members have the option to send a link to any or all of their contacts and if three of them purchase the offer the original purchasing member obtains their offer free. Members must either print out their vouchers or download the LivingSocial app on their Android, iPhone, iPad, or iPod to redeem.
• Groupon prompts consumers of the world to get united, shop as groups rather than as individuals, so they can gain deep discounts from local businesses. Each day, Groupon emails its members one unbeatable offer on something great to do in your city. We offer consumers great values by guaranteeing businesses a minimum number of customers. If a certain number of people sign up, then everyone gets the Groupon offer. If that minimum isn’t reached, then no one gets it

How does the Social buying and Groupon work?

• At Groupon, for each new friend that signs up and buys a deal through your referral link, you’ll get a $10 referral bonus. So when letting your friends know about the amazing deal you found, tell them to “use my referral link to get the same deal and help me win 10 bucks.”  And if the deal is for a restaurant or local event, mention how fun it would be to experience it together as a group.
• Another way is to buy now and purchase later. If you feel that you do not want to redeem the voucher or coupon immediately, you can think ahead about what you may want. So, the next time you see a discounted offer you may consume it.
• Groupon and LivingSocial also offer free iPhone applications so that you may check the offers on the move.
• You can also save when you travel and access specific deals on the various social buying sites.
• If you are unhappy with the deal and fail to get proper help from the merchant, social-buying sites encourage their customers to complain to the site.
• You can also make suggestions, recommend or Tweet on the site

Groupon Now! is the newly launched feature specially for merchants. Groupon Now! is a great way for you to get nearby deals on demand that you can buy and use the same day. Most deals are only valid for a few hours and have a limited quantity.

For more information on how social media can help your business, visit www.wsiwebapplications.com or follow me on twitter @cmappleton