Sprout Social: Retailers Turn Their Backs On People 83% of the Time

Caid Christiansen• November, 04 2015

Just how bad are retailers at responding to consumer questions on social media?

According to a new report from Sprout Social, the answer to that question is: terrible.

In the “Sprout Social Index for Q4 2015,” social media management software company Sprout Social analyzed social data to draw conclusions about the responsiveness of today’s retailers. What they found was grim.

Our biggest takeaway from Sprout’s findings is one they harp on throughout the whole report: on social media, 83% of companies ignore their customers’ questions (leaving them unanswered within 72 hours), while the rest are making people wait an average of 12 hours to get a response.

It’s not like this is a new thing, either. In Sprout’s last index, 7 in 8 questions fell on deaf ears; this time, it’s 8 in 9. What’s worse is that the number of questions has increased. Sprout noticed a 32% spike in the amount of Facebook and Twitter messages sent from customers to brands over the past year. And yet, still, there’s no sign that companies are making any sort of improvement.

In all, Sprout found that only 14% of consumer concerns on Twitter received responses, while 9% of consumer concerns on Facebook were ever responded to.

This is, in a word, pitiful.

Social media is supposed to be just that–social. Instead, it seems that many retailers on social media are treating it just like old forms of traditional advertising: one-way. It may seem like a good idea to do nothing but broadcast, broadcast, broadcast on your social media platforms, but in doing so, you’re ignoring your potential customers, the ones in the best position to ultimately buy whatever it is that you’re selling.

Especially with the holiday season approaching, companies on social media would be wise to reconsider how they’re treating social media now. With so many questions going unanswered, it couldn’t be clearer that those companies who take the time to answer questions and have real conversations with customers will perform far better than those that don’t.