Report: Facebook and Accenture Help Us Understand the Evolving Path to Purchase

Why we’re all in on performance branding – and how it can transform your growth.

Report: Facebook and Accenture Help Us Understand the Evolving Path to Purchase

Bryan Karas

September 20, 2018

Understanding and optimizing a customer’s path to purchase is almost as tricky as Frodo and Sam’s travels through the Old Forest on their way to Mordor. Except this time we don’t expect someone to drop a gold ring into an endless pit of fire…we expect them to buy it, leave a review, tell their friends and come back to buy a matching necklace.

Marketers can dream can’t they?

But thanks to Facebook and Accenture, we now have a better understanding of the shopping journey of the “connected” customer…

The two teamed up, surveying thousands of consumers, to explore how mobile, apps and other digital platforms redefine how people around the world discover, evaluate and purchase products.

So if you bought a new t-shirt within the last three months there is a 60% chance you discovered it online. And guest what…”the Facebook Family of Apps is the top source of online discovery for shoppers in all categories surveyed.” Cough cough:: Instagram Shopping ::cough cough.

You Shall Not Pass…

Unless you’re able to apply great data into actionable marketing tactics and strategies…data is great and all but how do we apply it?

Well lucky for us Facebook gave us the answer…

Create in-store shopping experiences online – Depending on how you look at it, Amazon pretty much ruined it for everyone. A few product images and a quick description no longer converts into sales. You need videos, 360 degree images, reviews, and a quick customer service messaging system.
Make online purchasing easy – In stores, all you need to do is whip out some cash or a credit card. Boom. Done. But online…some sites make you fill out a registration and go through two or three pages before you even enter your credit card info. It’s time to offer one-click purchasing options on your website, Facebook and Instagram pages.

When in doubt, follow your nose

And in this case…your nose is Instagram. Instagram has pretty much become an online mail order catalogue. The app has added a new Shopping channel on the Explore tab and new shopping tags to Stories.

It’s about time Instagram stepped it up from “where you get ideas” to a place “where you buy that jacket right after you see the picture and get it delivered in less than a week.”

Setting up Instagram Shopping is easy. It’s how you create an amazing shopping experience that takes a little bit of optimization. Check out this in-depth blog post on how to set up and optimize Instagram Shopping.

Epic List of Instagram Shopping Case Studies That Grew Traffic Over 1,416%

From increasing traffic to boosting sales (20 percent lift), here is an amazing resource that answers the who, how and what questions around Instagram Shopping. It’s a must read if you’re looking to capitalize on Instagram’s influence on the upcoming holiday season.