Pandemic and high street closures fuels social media shopping

New research out today from Mastercard reveals that Brits have discovered new ways to shop on social media during the pandemic, as bricks and mortar stores were forced to shut, with 43% of those surveyed increasing their spending on social media in 2020 compared to previous years.

Top categories for items bought through social media:

1. Fashion (41%)
2. Beauty (24%)
3. Homeware (23%)
4. Technology (18%)
5. Sports and fitness (11%)
6. Food (11%)

Top reasons Brits are purchasing from social media:

1. Using social media more due to the pandemic (50%)
2. Not able to shop in physical stores, so shop via social (41%)
3. More time on their hands (30%)
4. More convenient than buying on the high street (23%)
5. Targeted ads encourage people to buy (22%)

As a result of lockdowns and restrictions, many consumers have found new digital ways to get their retail therapy fix. Shopping for clothes and fashion made up 41 per cent of purchases through social media, followed by beauty (24%) and homeware (23%).

Aston spoke to Katherine Templar-Lewis, creative scientist and neurologist and Janne Karppinen, vice president at Mastercard UK&I to discuss the findings in further detail and also offter tips on how to shop safely whilst on social media.

Photo by Mike Petrucci on Unsplash