According to the fourth annual snapshot of Australian social media habits, retailers are driving the growth in social media marketing among small and medium sized businesses.  Half of small - medium sized retailers are now using social media to drive business, up from just 32% in 2013.  The rise is the biggest leap of any sector.

The full article is from Inside Retail and can be read here.

Why the leap? Because they are getting the picture: consumers are spending more of their time on social networks than ever. Combine that with the slew of new social ad formats Facebook and Twitter have introduced—many of which retailers say are very effective—and retailers see the results in big growth in traffic and sales that stem from social networks.