Retailers want to know what you like - and they're using Snapchat to find out

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There are no shortage of ways to shop nowadays, but soon you could have one more way: Snapchat.

Retailers have been trying to reach customers in creative and engaging ways, and the latest trend is to use Snapchat to do that. But the way in which this process would work actually runs counter to the way Snapchat was designed to be used.

The app displays images or videos that disappear after a few seconds. If a user takes a screenshot to save the image, then the sender receives an alert. But retailers want to use precisely those notifications to interact with their customers for free, reports Digiday.

Birchbox, Who What Wear, and Urban Decay are currently using Snapchat to get feedback from their customers through "screenshot surveys" in which users receive a question through a Snapchat message that would read, for example, "Do you use this toothpaste?" or "Did you like this soap?" If the user wants to say yes, then they would take a screenshot.

These surveys let the retailers know which products are popular and how much social media attention they have.

Snapchat surveys could present a huge opportunity for retailers because they would be engaging with consumers in a way that is already familiar to them. This type of organic interaction could open up a new avenue from retailers to their customers.

And this is just one way in which retailers are using mobile apps and devices to reach the masses. As more people turn to their mobile devices to shop, retailers have been trying to adjust their strategies to meet their customers' desires.

If successful, these surveys would provide invaluable data for retailers on the demographics of their customers. These social media demographics are becoming increasingly vital for brands to understand those with whom they are engaging.

This report on social media demographics from BI Intelligence, Business Insider's premium research service, unpacks data from over a dozen sources to understand how social media demographics and preferences are still shifting.

BI Intelligence

Here are a few of the key takeaways from the report:

• Pinterest has tremendous reach among women. Among US female internet users, 42% reported being on Pinterest in Pew's late-2014 survey, compared to only 13% of men.
• Instagram has become the most important and most-used social network for US teens. 32% of US teenagers cited it as their most important social network in Piper Jaffray's twice-annual teen survey, compared to only 14% saying that of Facebook.
• Snapchat, Vine, and Tumblr had by far the most youthful user bases of the social networks we looked at. 45% of Snapchat's adult users are between 18 and 24, followed by Vine (28%) and Tumblr (28%), according to comScore.
• LinkedIn enjoys high adoption among highly educated and high-income users. LinkedIn is used by 44% of Americans with income of $75,000 or more, according to Pew.
• Messaging apps also have become more broadly popular, but still skew young: 7% of all people in the US aged 12 and older use WhatsApp, according to the Edison Research and Triton Digital survey.
• The aging of Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and even Pinterest is more apparent than ever. That's especially true of Facebook: Less than two-fifths of Facebook's adult user base in the US is aged 18 to 34, according to comScore.

In full, the report:

• Looks at overall social networking adoption in the US and globally
• Assesses the most important demographic skews at the top social networks, including Facebook, Snapchat, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, YouTube, and Tumblr
• Examines the rise of image-sharing social networks like Instagram and Snapchat
• Compares how demographics have changed over time as older social networks have matured

To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:

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2. Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT

The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of social media demographics.