More back-to-school shoppers in US using social networks says survey

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The number of consumers in the US using social networking sites to assist in back-to-school shopping has increased by six percent year-on-year according to a new survey by market research company Deloitte.

According to the results of the survey, released July 27, 35 percent of parents in the US plan to use social networks to assist with back-to-school shopping; this figure represents a six percent increase from the 29 percent of shoppers doing the same in 2010.

Of these respondents, 69 percent plan to use social networking sites to find out about promotions on back-to-school products. An additional 44 percent of respondents plan to browse for back-to-school products on social networking sites while 28 percent intend to use the sites to read product reviews and recommendations.

These results are from a survey conducted on behalf of Deloitte from July 5-11. The survey polled 1,000 parents of children aged 16-19 (K12) and has a margin of error of plus/minus three percent.

Facebook, the world's largest social network, was estimated to have around 149 million active monthly users in the United States in June, despite experiencing a loss of around six million active monthly members in May.

Additionally the popularity of the social network can be seen in data from market analysts Experian Hitwise which shows that, over the week prior to July 23, Facebook was the most visited website in the United States; Google and YouTube were ranked second and third respectively.