Visioncritical: Half of purchases triggered by social networks are made offline

What is the role of social media for retailers? What is the actual situation from social to sales? Visioncritical's research report from social to sales may give us some inspiration:

4 in 10 users purchased an item online or in store after sharing or liking a brand on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest;

Social media drives almost as many purchases online as offline stores. If you only look at online purchases, you’re ignoring the other half of conversions that are driven by social media.

Half of all purchases made on social networks occur within a week of a brand being shared or liked.

Pinterest is most likely to inspire unplanned purchases, while purchases associated with Facebook and Twitter are more likely to be products that users are researching or considering.

via:visioncritical