By Zeba Fatima

Consumers are seeking more communication with retailers through social media for a more personalised shopping experience, according to IBM's Smarter Consumer Survey.

Consumers are also increasingly willing to share information with their favorite retailers to educate them on how, when and where to approach them.

The results of the IBM survey of 28,500 consumers showed that consumers are more than willing to share with retailers through social networks.

In exchange for a better, more personalized shopping experience, consumers will tell all about their media consumption (75%); age, race, gender, and income (73%); name and address (61%); and lifestyle details such as hobbies and other interests (59%).

IBM also probed some 1.2 million Facebook updates, Twitter tweets, and social videos using its Cognos Consumer Insight social-media-analysis technology to find out more about brand sentiments.

It found discussions around some brands is all about the transaction (price, availability, where to purchase, and so on), whereas other brands evoke lifestyle-related terminology (self-improvement, style, love, "I can't live without this brand"). With this kind of insight, manufacturers and retailers can tune their marketing messages or try to change their image and consumer perception.

With these preferences in mind, IBM is unveiling new software with mobile and social media capabilities. For mobile users, IBM's software for Smarter Commerce now offers native Android and Apple-based applications for e-commerce that take advantage of those operating systems to deliver a richer shopping experience. With these applications, retailers can quickly develop their own storefronts on mobile devices such as the iPad, iPhone or Droid.

Consumers become brand advocates online

IBM has expanded the solution's support for Facebook to enable companies to deliver relevant marketing offers and campaigns based on a customer's social activity. For example, if a customer "Likes" or "Shares" a product on Facebook, companies can immediately send a promotion code for that specific product. In this way, companies can reward consumers for being brand advocates, which can strengthen that consumer's loyalty to the brand.

"Today, consumers trust the opinions of other consumers more than companies, prompting retailers to rethink their operations and embrace Smarter Commerce," said IBM general manager of industry solutions Craig Hayman.

"Smarter Commerce helps retailers deepen customer relationships and turn prospects into brand advocates. With mobile and social networks, consumers have the power to make or break a brand in an instant. Winning their loyalty in the seconds it takes to search the competition is the new imperative."