What’s New in Social Commerce?

Have you ever purchased something online? If so, you are among many around the world who have participated in social commerce. Social commerce, or S-Commerce, is the buying and selling of products online. Seems simple enough, but it has become an international phenomenon. In 2015, social commerce revenues are predicted to reach $30 billion. If we look at the numbers today, we can see that we are well on our way to meet or exceed that prediction. For example, the company Groupon alone recorded $11 million in sales for one day on behalf of GAP. And there are even more success stories. The brand Pampers sold 1,000 Diapers in 1 hour of putting their store on Facebook. Baby & Me reported that 50% of online sales came from Facebook alone, and F&F stated that they generated £2 million + in sales with Facebook vouchers. Now the question is how can businesses take advantage of this market? There are many key trends in the market, and if the business, and even the consumer are aware of these trends, he/she can profit from the experience. I am going to highlight the most recent trends currently going on comprising of Facebook shopping, mobile commerce, friend sharing, and the most recent trend, group gifting.

Facebook Shopping

Otherwise known as F-Commerce, it allows companies to use services such as VendingBox to sell goods and services through Facebook.

Mobile Commerce

Mobile Commerce, M-Commerce, is the ability to manage/conduct transactions through your cell phone. Studies show that people will spend approximately $119 billion on goods and services through their mobile phone. Some companies such as VendingBox have already launched a mobile version of their software. It’s easy to use, and conveniently accessible on the go.

Friend Sharing

A growing trend among social commerce is showing what your friends have purchased. This feature is a product of studies which have shown that consumers rely heavily on the recommendations of their friends. VendingBox has taken this one step more and created a share and earn feature. This innovative feature allows you to offer anyone that shares or tweets a product, to receive a percentage of the sales that are generated whenever their friends or followers make purchases from your store. Similarly, for those who enjoy the opinions of their friends and community when shopping, there is a website called ‘what are you wearing’ which allows you to add items to your wardrobe online and get the opinions of friends before you buy.

Group Gifting

Ebay has developed a feature in which you can buy a gift for someone’s birthday, wedding, etc, and ask his/her friends to contribute. If you are unsure what your friend would like for a gift, you should consider using Facebook Connect. Through Facebook Connect, Ebay obtains information from your friend’s Facebook profile to help you find the perfect gift.

In conclusion, social commerce is continuously improving in its endeavors to make a better system. Bing Gordon, a leader in social web, said it best, “The potential for social commerce today is infinite....”