According to research into social commerce by nToklo, UK retailers are missing out on a potential £9 billion in additional revenue online. The whitepaper reveals how user generated content is shaping online retail faster than the retailers themselves and how s-commerce is not yet the sum of its parts.

The use of user content and recommendations could account for up to a 27 per cent uptake in sales. IMRG reported that the UK’s online retail spend for 2011 was £68.2 billion and this online spend is expected to grow by a further 13 per cent in 2012.

Considering that, according to nToklo’s research, half of retailers don’t offer online recommendations to consumers, it can be estimated that retailers missed out on an estimated £9 billion worth of additional revenue online last year.

Anton Gething, co-founder & product director at nToklo, says: “The increasing interest in social commerce stems from the natural progression of two trends that have seen tremendous growth in recent years: online shopping and social networking. However, this research shows that social commerce is yet to become the sum of its parts and many businesses are missing out on a potentially significant additional revenue opportunity. In strained times, this additional revenue could provide a much needed lifeline for British retailers.”

The research highlights that ‘social’ is important to UK retailers, with over 90 per cent of those surveyed having a presence on Facebook and Twitter. However, only 65 per cent of retailers’ sites utilise the integration technology these social platforms can offer, such as Facebook Connect.

In fact, over three quarters of the retail sites reviewed also did not have their own social community functions onsite, despite many requiring customers to sign-in to the site in order to make a purchase.

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