As the world becomes social, so does commerce. In the past, one could open an online store for a product or service, prepare a descriptive sales page, add a shopping cart, and successfully start selling. With the shift to social media, traditional e-commerce is fast fading as the preferred way for people to shop online. What is becoming increasingly important is that e-commerce is social. Social Commerce as it is increasingly known, is where eCommerce meets social.

Social Commerce

So what does social commerce mean? There are several features that shape social e-commerce. Marketers who want to apply social commerce to their sales can consider doing the following on their sites or start selling their products and services through social hubs or social marketplaces.

Characteristics Define Social Commerce

Unlike traditional e-commerce, in the world of social commerce, buyers make decisions about whether to buy or try a product or service based on social reviews from other users, not just the seller's description.

Feedback and Recommendations

Buyers of products and services actively participate by giving feedback and recommendations to friends and others in the community. Therefore, it is very important for the seller to monitor feedback closely and correct any faults quickly in order to change any negative feedback.

Different Offers

Increasingly, Social Commerce is also aligned with Mobile Commerce. Offers are therefore shared with Mobile QR Codes and Atom Feeds, which allow sharing of offers, likes, and dislikes, which are presented to the user not only with one seller's offer, but often with related offers from other sellers, for so a potential buyer can make an informed decision based not just on one offer, but on a portfolio of all available offers, complete with reviews, recommendations, and ratings.

Pictures and Videos

Images and videos are an integral part of the proposal, so complete the process of showing what the proposal is not only with text but also with images and videos. Such images and videos are shared on image networks and video networks like YouTube, further facilitating viral spread.

Payment Methods

Everything a potential buyer needs to know, i.e. what the offer is, how long it will take to deliver the offer, what exactly is required of the buyer, if any, what payment methods are allowed, what will be delivered, etc. description. Typically, a buyer does not need to go anywhere else or click any other links to get the full picture and make an informed decision.