GAMES

The Rise of Social Commerce: How UAE Businesses Can Boost Sales and Conversions in 2023 

Social media has grown to be an effective device for companies to connect with their audience and enhance their income in the latest years. The integration of social media and e-commerce, referred to as social commerce, has offered a completely unique opportunity for UAE companies to decorate their revenue and conversions. 

Social commerce has converted the way groups engage with their clients, letting them directly sell their merchandise via social media platforms. This article will have a look at the increasing popularity of social commerce within Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and the rest of GCC, and offer insights on how businesses can leverage this trend to enhance their sales and conversions in 2023. Additionally, we will explore the strategies that groups can adopt to optimize their social trade efforts and spotlight the trends and obstacles they need to be aware of. Regardless of the size of the commercial enterprise, social commerce has the potential to seriously increase sales and conversions. 

UAE is witnessing fast growth in social commerce, with businesses increasingly knowing the ability and advantages of integrating social media and e-commerce. The COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 has further accelerated the trend towards online purchasing, leading consumers to decide on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and Snap chat to find out and buy merchandise. 

Social commerce has emerged as a critical tool for companies to target their audience and drive sales, as per a PwC Middle East survey. The survey revealed that 80% of UAE customers use social media to analyze products before purchasing, whilst 50% have already made a purchase via social media. 

WHAT IS SOCIAL COMMERCE – Relevance in Social Commerce Firms 

Social commerce is a form of e-commerce, and it describes the process where consumers purchase products or services directly from a social media platform. It can also consist of links on various networks that direct users to a retailer’s product page with an immediate checkout option. With social commerce, shoppers can explore brands, investigate products, communicate with customer service, and buy items all within the same interface. The convenience and interactivity of social commerce may be the reason for its growing popularity among consumers. 

Advantages of Social Commerce for Businesses  

Businesses in the UAE can benefit significantly from social commerce. It provides multiple advantages like elevated sales and conversions, more meaningful customer engagement, and increased brand visibility. 
 

Sales and Conversions: Social media platforms give businesses a direct channel to their target audience, allowing them to sell their products without needing a website or physical store. This travel-free process leads to higher sales and conversions as customers can complete the purchase within the platform effortlessly.
 

Customer Engagement: Social commerce also encourages better customer satisfaction because businesses can interact with customers on a more personal level. They’re enabled to answer queries, show personalized recommendations, and gain feedback – all of which help foster customer loyalty and trust. 

Increased Brand Awareness: Businesses can benefit from increased brand visibility and credibility through social commerce. Social media influencers offer businesses the potential to reach a larger audience while fostering customer loyalty by creating an online community. By leveraging social media platforms, businesses can effectively promote their brand and products for enhanced brand awareness. 

Tips for Social Commerce Success in 2023 – Strategies of Social Commerce Consultants 

Build Trust 

Social Commerce Agencies believe succeeding at scale relies heavily on providing a trustworthy shopping environment. Assurance of quality and reliability in fulfilling orders, as well as clear purchase protection and refunds, are all integral parts of this foundation. Pay attention to the basics for success, such as efficient fulfillment, secure purchase protection, and reliable refund processes across your social stores. 

Create an efficient and effortless way for customers to shop 

Businesses can take advantage of social commerce platforms to implement an effective social selling system. This system should be tested and perfected to ensure a hassle-free customer journey. A great thing about social selling is that it does not require customers to register for an account or install an app; this cut down on tedious steps in the purchasing process. With the right platform, customers can quickly and securely access inquiries, order placement, and payment all within a chat window. 

Focus on ‘Alt’ Text 

Alt text, sometimes referred to as alt descriptions, is an HTML attribute used to provide a brief description of images on web pages. Adding alt text is critical for enhancing website accessibility and can improve SEO by helping search engines index the webpage images. When it comes to creative assets on the web, the alt text should always be included. Alt text provides context around the visuals for users and search engines alike. It can help improve user experience by providing an accessible version of an image that may not be visible or blocked, as well as assist in SEO rankings. To ensure your content is optimized for maximum reach, make sure to always include alt text on creative assets! By employing the appropriate use of alt text, you can optimize your website for both humans and search engine crawlers. 

Geotag your Posts and add the Location 

For maximum visibility on social media, make sure you’ve geotagged your posts and have set the appropriate settings for location visibility. Social Commerce Companies believe doing this ensures that users who are looking for content in your area will be able to discover and engage with your posts.   

Local SEO is chiefly critical for hospitality, dining, entertainment, and any small business, or physical storefronts. To be visible anytime someone in your area searches for your service, make sure to add a location on your business page as well as to all content you share. This applies not just to regular web searches but also to voice search services. Be sure to make the most of local SEO strategies so that your business shows up at the top of the search results. 

Make use of Social Metrics and Reports 

Measuring social metrics is a great way to gauge your performance and understand your return on investment. Prioritize key metrics, track their progress over time, and set up automated reports so that you can monitor them regularly. With the right data, increasing your insights into your social media activity will be easy.   

Instagram Insights and Facebook Audience Insights give marketers valuable demographic data that can be used to construct highly targeted campaigns. These insights comprise age and gender breakdowns, job titles, relationship statuses, education levels, interests, and hobbies. Brands are now able to create ad campaigns that appear in front of their target audiences; gaining access to groups/areas that other ecommerce sites cannot reach. Social commerce has opened a new level of marketing potential for retailers.   

Social media reports are a critical component of social media management. They offer the only opportunity to assess performance analytics and measure success, making them incredibly valuable for developing evidence-based strategies. The insights gained from a well-crafted report also provide a powerful way to demonstrate ROI and build credibility with stakeholders across an organization. 

Involve Customers with Customer Feedback Forms and the ‘Auto-reply’ Feature 

Social media provides an invaluable platform for brands to have direct and collaborative communication with their customers. Consumers enjoy having a voice in what companies create, so through polls, comments and messenger tools businesses can learn a great deal about what would best meet customer demands. This feedback can then be used to inform product offerings – from increased customer service or more size options to the unveiling of a new clothing collection – ensuring consumers are satisfied with the end results. Additionally, leveraging automation technology such as chatbots and auto-reply functions amplifies social selling marketing efforts on channels like Facebook and Instagram, ultimately better serving those who are already invested in the products or services you offer. 

Embed ‘Eye-Catching’ Visuals  

Statistics show that 70% of consumers use Instagram for product discovery. Hence, having a storefront on Instagram lets buyers shop from visuals in any part of the app. As such, there is a strong opinion among social commerce consultants that content posted to social media, especially on visual-focused platforms like Instagram is essential for social selling marketing. 

Future Trends in the Space of Social Commerce in 2023 and Beyond 

Future lies in Conversational Chatbots, AI, ML, and AR 

Social media is a brilliant platform for communication – but keeping up with hundreds of messages can be overwhelming. This is where chatbots come in – they allow brands to take customer queries without having to have a representative available 24/7. Chatbots also enable informed buying decisions through product visuals and support sales teams by reducing their workload. Thanks to the advances in artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), and augmented reality (AR), brands are now making use of these technologies for social commerce, all helping to improve customer engagement.  

For example, AI has enabled the creation of interactive chatbots which simulate human conversation. AR meanwhile helps you visualize furniture against your walls or floors using your mobile phone’s camera as seen in Instagram, while automated checkout through platforms such as Facebook Shop makes the purchase process even easier. Making buying quicker and more convenient than ever before! 

Live-Streaming is here to stay 

During the pandemic, many businesses took advantage of live streaming to promote their products and services. There is an almost unlimited range of ways to utilize this powerful platform– from general streams about the industry to specific streams that detail product benefits and even customer service for existing users. Furthermore, social media promotion can be seamlessly integrated with streaming– for example, a Facebook Live stream showcasing the advantages of a product combined with an in-app Facebook Marketplace ad. This combination provides businesses with greater reach and exposure while creating an opportunity for increased sales potential. 

Rise in the Usage of Voice Technology for Shopping 

Voice technology has become increasingly popular with the younger generations, who prefer it for its convenience when completing searches. This type of technology also encourages higher purchase rates, making it an attractive tool for brands to take advantage of. As stand-alone devices such as Amazon Alexa and Google Home grow in popularity, businesses should consider looking into voice search integration to increase customer engagement and remain competitive in their respective industries. 

User-Generated Content will be the ‘King’ 

Businesses are increasingly utilizing User-Generated Content (UGC) in their campaigns, and the effectiveness of UGC is only increasing. When customers view UGC they have a sense of genuine interactions rather than being actively advertised to. People tend to share messages featuring UGC more often, maximizing the potential reach of social media campaigns. Furthermore, those same consumers trust UGC 88% more than influencers; it’s viewed as coming from a neutral and reliable source. 

Collaborations with Micro-influencers to Expand Business Reach 

Micro-influencer collaborations remain relevant in both the present and future, providing small businesses with a terrific opportunity. By working with micro-influencers, brands maintain a balanced ad budget while gaining wider reach. Unlike big-name influencers who draw much bigger fees, micro-influencers often come at an affordable rate and attract very specific audiences. Further, they possess higher levels of authenticity and transparency which can help brands drive conversions more effectively. Micro-influencer collaborations are an invaluable asset for business owners seeking to grow their impact across various markets. 

Closer view of Products with Video Content 

Video-based social commerce is becoming increasingly popular among brands. How can those new to the space get started? Conveniently, there are a few ways. Always remember that your viewers may be unfamiliar with shoppable videos. Include captions and frequent reminders that allow them to purchase items directly from the post. It’s best to limit videos to one or two products and ensure they’re in action throughout the video. TikTok’s lightning-fast emergence as a video-only platform has prompted Instagram competitors Reels, but this doesn’t mean you should limit yourself to one platform for product marketing – live streams, consultations, and personalized recommendations each have their place in creating an engaging experience for viewers across all platforms. 

Digital Avatars in Fashion Industry  

Digital avatars are taking the fashion industry by storm. They can provide more flexibility for brands to promote their collections, as well as give consumers a realistic view of clothing and accessories, down to body type, skin tone, and other unique preferences. According to research, 67% of Gen Z Instagram users would like to use avatars for that purpose. This has led major designer labels such as Balenciaga, Prada, and DressX to join Meta’s Avatar Store – an online platform where users can purchase digital outfits for their avatars. The avatar revolution marks the beginning of a new era in fashion: customizable visuals that reflect individualism through garments, creating a personalized aesthetic despite shopping online. 

Conclusion
Social commerce is a subset of e-commerce, rising in popularity due to its focus on leveraging social media and messaging applications to facilitate sales. As the need for standout content increases, businesses in Dubai and Abu Dhabi must now apply strategies in their social selling efforts to stay competitive. Social commerce has the potential as an evergreen trend, offering advantages such as creating company engagement and facilitating quick promotional virality. Thus, it’s likely that many companies will shift towards this form of selling to expand their customer base and increase revenues.  

Businesses in UAE can reap significant rewards by utilizing the services of HelloPixels, a trusted firm in UAE, to implement social media for commerce, improving sales and conversions, enhancing customer engagement, and raising brand awareness. When strategically employed, social commerce can be a powerful tool to give your business a competitive edge. 

TIME BUSINESS NEWS