Social and Mobile Are Changing "Shopping"

One way to look at marketing is to say that channels today are highly fragmented, and becoming more fragmented. (Click on image for a larger view)

The other way to look at marketing is to day that products are more customized and personalized, and there are buying influences broadly scattered across a range of digital channels, including social shopping influences.

In other words, people have more input available from other shoppers, and shoppers use that information when buying themselves.

Some people think social commerce or social shopping is basically just social networking. That's likely too narrow a view. Social processes (people sharing and collaborating) are bigger than simple "social networking," and affect both the ways consumers find information and make choices, as well as the ways marketers have to plan on reaching potential buyers.