Forbes – Three Important Retail Trends for 2013

Rich Relevance’s chief marketing officer Diane Kegley tells FORBES, “We believe that social is going to have an increasing impact in 2013. We feel that the role of social media is to generate awareness, not direct sales. While traffic referred from social networks is low – less than .5% according to our data – it has grown 30% year-over-year.”

Kegley notes that retailers are getting smarter about how to use the social channels to generate customer “delight.” She points out how Target recently awarded gift cards to a number of customers who were tweeting about them over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. “Social media is one element in [retailers’] arsenal of developing brand awareness across multiple channels. All of these elements, including social media, shape or form the way that a consumer hears about a brand or offering. This contributes not only to awareness, but actual product decisions.”

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