Around 40 percent of Australians surveyed by Finder have bought something online after seeing it on social media. And 15 percent have purchased electronics.
“The average social media shopper spent $420 over the past year, adding up to $3.5 billion nationally,” Finder said, extrapolating the survey of 1,009 people.
Top products bought after being seen on social media were clothing (25 percent), to beauty products (16 percent), electronics (15 percent) and accessories (12%).
Facebook (61 percent), Instagram (52 percent) and TikTok (40 percent) are “the top social media players when it comes to influencing Aussies to buy something”, Finder said.
“With advanced algorithms and data-driven strategies, advertisements are now more personalised than ever before,” said Finder’s Rebecca Pike.
“Have you ever mentioned a product in conversation and then immediately seen an ad for it the next time you opened your phone? By analysing users’ behaviours, interests, and online activity, these platforms seamlessly present tailored content that aligns with individual preferences.”
Generation Z was the most likely to have been influenced by these ads. More than 2 in 3 (68 percent) said they bought an item they saw on social media, followed by 52 percent of millennials and 29 percent of Generation X.
Fifteen percent of Baby Boomers who took part in the survey had bought something after seeing it on social media.
Men (36 percent) were less likely to buy from social media than women (44 percent), but they spent on average $553 compared to $322 for women.
Finder’s Consumer Sentiment Tracker is a “live, nationally representative study of the Australian public” that “continuously monitors consumer sentiment in Australia”.
Since it was launched in 2019, it has surveyed more than 67,000 Australians. Each month it adds 1,000 new survey respondents.
Selection criteria include age, location, gender and income, “ensuring a demographic cross-section that mirrors Australia’s population”.
