The Uses of Social Media Sites in the Shopping Process from the Point of View of users of E-shopping Platforms and the Gratifications Achieved from Them

Abstract

Social media sites formed a new framework for the relationship between sales centers and the customer and transformed the relationship between them into an electronic relationship, but it is based on constructive and fruitful interaction between the two parties, and thus produced a new form of communication that did not exist before the popularity of these sites.

As soon as those in charge of shopping centers and sales outlets realized that these sites would lead them to a wide and interactive audience, as they would lead the public to interact with them while sitting at their home or workplace, he started racing to create an account for him on one or more of those platforms.

Each of the parties to the sales and shopping process has his arguments and reasons that lead him to use these platforms, especially since we live in the midst of a world of complexity in various aspects of life.This research has shed light on the extent of the public's use of these platforms in the shopping process as a new type of relationship between shopping outlets and the public who visit those outlets, and the most important findings of the research are the following:1- The Baghdad public prefers to use social media sites in the shopping process to shorten time and effort due to the inability to go to the markets sometimes.2- The emergence of the priority of using Facebook and Instagram sites in the shopping process, due to its wide spread in the city of Baghdad.3- The Baghdad public’s reliance on social media sites in acquiring clothes, due to the large number of promotional advertisements about them.4- Friends usually advise their peers to shop through social media sites, and this indicates a kind of viral marketing of the commodity.