Social media has transformed the way we do business, yet many British retailers still harbour reservations about the benefits of social media to their business, according to a new survey by delivered wholesaler, Palmer and Harvey (P&H).

When retailers were questioned about their social media habits at this year’s Pro-retail show, P&H found that while 63% use it to promote their business, they have significant concerns about the benefits that employing a digital strategy can deliver.

One in three admit they don’t consider themselves to be social media savvy, and while the use of social media among retailers has been growing, more than one third (37%) still haven’t adopted social media to grow and market their business.

The survey also revealed Facebook as the most popular social media platform, with 94% of retailers who use social media saying they run a business account. Twitter is used by over half of retailers (55%), followed by LinkedIn (22%) and Instagram (17%).

Key benefits of using social media identified by retailers included creating positive exposure for their store, the ability to quickly respond to customer complaints and queries and posting information directly applicable to their customer base.

Retailers also said that it was much cheaper than traditional advertising.

P&H has created a comprehensive social media guide for its customers as part of its ongoing commitment to providing added value to independent retailers. The how-to guide has been designed to help retailers set up and make the most of their social media accounts.