LONDON, April 30, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Online retailing pioneer Amazon has climbed to the top of the retail social media ranks, thanks in part to the introduction of #AmazonBasket, according to the latest Retail Social Media Benchmark results from eDigitalResearch.

Launched in May 2014, #AmazonBasket allows Twitter followers to automatically add items to their Amazon account by simply tweeting the hashtag. Since the introduction of the new social media shopping functionality, Amazon have added a staggering 700,000 new followers to their UK Twitter account in the past six months, bumping them up to second overall, just behind leaders Topshop.

The latest rise in social media following makes Amazon one of the most popular retailing brands in the online social sphere. The online giant manages to mix promotional and product material seamlessly and has an active and growing presence across all major social media platforms - including Facebook, Twitter and Google+.

Elsewhere in the eDigitalResearch benchmark, discount retailer Primark continues to surge up the league table, despite operating a limited online presence that offers no transactional functionality. Primark instead use social media sites, especially Facebook to their advantage, posting pictures of products and actively encouraging users to visit their nearest store.

For the first time, the Retail Social Media Benchmark also measured the presence of retailers on growing photo sharing site Instagram. Results found that fashion leaders Topshop claim the top spot in the first Instagram league table with over 1million more followers than second placed ASOS. Like other retailer Instagram accounts, Topshop capitalise heavily on endorsing their products with a handful of good, regular posts.

Kat Hounsell, Sales and Marketing Director at eDigitalResearch, comments, "The popularity of social media platforms amongst brands and consumers is continuing to grow at a substantial rate - we're now seeing some retailers with millions upon millions of followers. Results therefore show that social media channels are reaching more consumers than ever before. In fact, supporting eDigitalResearch insight shows that social media use within the customer service mix is also growing at a steady pace*. It's important for retailers to bring the Voice of the Social Customer into the heart of their business - and to not only listen to what they're saying, but to interpret conversations and feedback accurately in order to improve".

Download a full copy of the latest Retail Social Media Benchmark results by completing the short download survey: https://edigitalsurvey.com/survey/enter/s/ESV-461884545

*eDigitalResearch Customer Service Benchmark 2015. Full results available in later March.

About eDigitalResearch  

eDigitalResearch is a leading provider of bespoke Voice of the Customer solutions, established to help organisations assess and improve their customer experience. Our proprietary technology and insight platform adapts to your needs and business model, empowering you to make critical business decisions in the moments that matter. Utilising our vast research knowledge and focused insight experience, we work closely with clients to deliver a range of flexible and innovative leading-edge insight solutions, including real-time Customer Experience Management, multichannel Voice of the Customer feedback, as well as flexible insight and technology partnership options.

SOURCE eDigitalResearch