The increasing use of social media has dramatically changed the way Essay

The increasing use of social media has dramatically changed the way how young consumers behave prior to their purchase decision and consumption - Essay Example The most common forms of social media are the websites that have been established on the Internet such as Facebook, Reddit and Twitter which enables users to post their thoughts onto the Internet for all or a chosen few to see. The introduction of social media to the world has affected almost every sector and the business world is not different and can be pronounced to be one of the sectors that have been highly affected by this advancement in technology (Khosla, 2010). Consumers no longer behave in a similar manner than before the advent of this new discovery, and as a result, it has also forced the business world to adapt to it. There are a number of ways that the consumer does not act similarly as before the introduction of social media during their shopping experience, these include: The consumer’s behavior prior to the purchase of a product has been influenced by the founding of the social media as the buyers have learnt to adapt and use it to their advantage when considering an item. In the past, a consumer would, for example, buy their products based on the adverts that they saw on the TV, or other media trusting that information that they were receiving on the product was true. If one needed to be entirely sure, there were instances where they were able to take the product through a trial run or could ask for a demonstration at the store (Kardes, Cronley & Cline, 2011). Individuals would have been obliged to go to the store to see how a product actually worked if they were determined to erase any doubts that they may have had, but all this has changed due to the founding of the social media to the public. An individual no longer has to make the physical trip down to the store, since he can easily get them on the Internet and research the customer revi ews that are present on a number of websites on the product they have in mind. Using this method, the consumer is able to determine whether the product is satisfactory depending on the number