Kim Kardashian

Kim Kardashian, Wal-Mart is More Popular among the Facebook, Twitter Crowd

It seems that ubiquitous, over-the-top reality star queen Kim Kardashian can’t hold a candle to an equally ubiquitous (but infinitely less glamorous) retailer.

Middle-of-the-road Wal-Mart is the bigger social media star, with more than twice the number of followers as Kim.

Indeed, 61 percent of users who “fan” social media pages are opting to follow brands and retailers more than celebrities and TV shows, which are tracked by just over half of users, according to Buzz to Buy 3.0, a trend report by WSL/Strategic retail, which monitors shopper behavior and retail trends.

But as the much bayllooed notion of “Facebook commerce” in recent years has yet to materialize, “awareness doesn’t translate into sales – yet,” said Wendy Liebmann, CEO of WSL/Strategic Retail, in a statement. Today, only 26 percent of all social media users tap social networks for information about a purchase they’re mulling, the report reveals.
What’s more, the novelty of social media could be wearing off.
Although the amount of time Americans whittle away online is rising (up three hours per week in 2011), social media usage has dipped for the first time, down 10 percent in 2012 from 2011, with Generation X and baby boomers leading the decrease, the report says.

But the story starts to take a turn when looking at the millennial generation.
Social media usage among these younger shoppers rose 5 hours per week over 2011. What’s more, the report showed that a good chunk (40 percent) of this demographic relied on social networks to inform their purchasing decisions.

So does that mean it’s just a matter of time before Facebook commerce takes off, and shoppers use the social network as another retail portal to buy everything from socks to silverware?

Not so fast, says Andrew Cherwenka, CEO of Authentic, a technology company that helps marketers like The North Face increase sales using predictive analytics.
“Facebook users are there to socialize. They’re in a cold buying state,” he said.
However, they are “still receptive to brand messages, and they’re willing to share their profile data for the right reasons.”

To that end, “The smart marketers are pulling that rich behavioral data out with permission, and using it to drive sales outside of Facebook,” Cherwenka said.

Follow me on Twitter.