Facebook has not only been used for marketing but more recently as a place in which actual retail transactions happen. People are buying products on Facebook. (Asos) The only challenge is getting users to spend money in a context that they are used to just chatting with friends in.
There is definitely potential, and retailers are experimenting with creating more social experiences by showing users what products their friends have bought or conversations to develop around products.
As mobile technology (apps and web-based technologies) is advancing rapidly, there are many innovations in the ways people are trying to drive retail.
What is happening, in the example of the Korean market with the Homeplus Case Study. On their way to and from work, consumers were able to use their smartphones to scan the codes next to each product image. The products were then automatically dropped into the consumers’ online shopping cart and delivered to their homes after work.
Google, with Verifone Systems is hoping to convince shoppers to use their mobile devices to pay for goods at point of sale by waving a mobile phone in front of a detection device. This reflects the interest in, and potential for mobile shopping.
Also, one a creative level you can see in this McDonald’s Campaign, by using smartphones to engage consumers in a unique way, and directly drive sales for McDonald’s.