The concept of “social” shopping / commerce has been circulating for a few years, but the idea has yet to reach critical mass. Given how intertwined the purchase consideration process and social media have become, it is surprising that social shopping / commerce still seems to be in its infancy. So, if we aren’t yet ready for social commerce, what do we expect as we use social media to support our purchase decisions?

We expect to be inspired (awareness) – the April launch of Facebook’s Universal Like button and social shopping sites like Kaboodle and Woot! enhance our awareness of brands, products and services we didn’t even realize we even wanted…or needed. They allow us to browse brands and products without being tied down to any one retailer and importantly, they give us a window into what our friends think are must haves.

We expect deals (engagement) – you may not be a coupon clipper, but it’s hard to say no to a good deal. Social media has proven itself to be an effective channel for finding and sharing deals, promotions and coupons. The lure of exclusivity has buoyed deal-a-day services and made them increasingly attractive to retailers, manufacturers and social media platforms (e.g. Twitter recently announced its @EarlyBird service which will share time-bound deals from participating advertisers, Amazon acquired deal-a-day site Woot! in June). In fact, the promise of exclusive deals tends to be a key motivator behind why consumers “like” brands on Facebook or follow them on Twitter.

We expect a megaphone (advocacy) – social media gives us a platform to talk about the brands we love and the ones we want to make sure our friends avoid. A happy customer is a brand’s best marketer.

We may be conditioned to click on deals through Facebook for, say, a TV, but we aren’t yet fully on board with making our purchases through social media platforms. How do you think social commerce will evolve and when do you think making transactions within social media will be commonplace? Will mobile be the catalyst?