Social networking websites a boost for retailers

The popularity of retailers' pages on social network websites was revealed in a recent study by Performics called S-NET The Impact of Social Media.

The most recent S-NET findings complement a full study, which was released in June. The Impact of Social Media researched 11 industries - apparel, appliances, automotive, CPG, electronics, entertainment, financial services, healthcare, home furnishings, telecommunications and travel.

Researchers used a 30-minute online survey to collect information from 3,000 U.S. respondents who access at least one social network regularly.

Among others, results show 56 percent of respondents are fans of appliance brands and retailers on Facebook. Forty-nine percent of those polled discuss apparel on social networking sites and the same number follow automotive brands and retailers on Twitter.

Retailers are embracing social networking at a rate of 85 percent, according to results compiled by researchers for the Aberdeen Group. Still, they are not sure how effective their efforts are. Fifty-six percent of retailers admitted they have no way to quantify the effect of social media on sales, while 24 percent went on "gut feel", measurements.