Louise Taylor“What shall we have for dinner?”
It’s a question that millions of people ask every day. Recipe books used to provide much of the inspiration for answering it. However, recent research shows that 71% of adults now turn to social media for their recipe inspiration. Goodbye cookbooks, hello Facebook.
“Digital recipes are so useful,” comments Northfork Co-founder Erik Wallin. “We can browse them wherever and whenever we choose and share them with just a couple of taps or clicks. They provide much-needed inspiration on the go.”
Despite this trend, recipe publishers have, on the whole, been slow to tap into the immense potential for social commerce that these recipes deliver.
Social commerce is a growing industry. The market is worth $89.4 billion. In the next seven years, it’s projected to be worth $604.5 billion.
For recipe publishers, the key to enjoying social commerce success lies in connecting their recipes with a grocery retailer. It’s a journey that’s still evolving, with a range of variables in place in terms of how people move between social media platforms, the publisher’s website and the retailer’s site.
“When a third-party publisher links up with a grocery retailer in the right way, they can give their customers so much more. Customers can go from just browsing recipes to adding all of the required ingredients to their basket in a tap or two. If the experience is smooth, both the publisher and the retailer can reap the benefits of having delivered a helpful service.”
Based on Northfork’s experience, chief among those benefits is enhanced customer loyalty. And loyal customers tend to shop more frequently and spend more per shop. What retailer or publisher wouldn’t want that?
Like it or not, cooking has gone digital. Those providing recipe inspiration without linking to a retailer need to catch up. Fast.
Louise Taylor
Erik Wallin