Contents
What is Social Commerce?
Social commerce is a process of selling and buying of goods or services over the social media website. Social commerce uses social media websites such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter as a platform to sell goods and services. Owner does not require his own website to sell the goods or services, the deal takes places on the social media website.
Importance of Social Commerce
- Customer Oriented: social commerce is a customer-oriented platform. Because it only shows that related products or services which customer has need.
- Direct Buying: In social commerce buyer can buy products through social website, without going any other website. It helps the buyers to buy the products without any hassle.
- Help to Small Business: social commerce helps the small business to increase their sales, small business owner get the big marketplace. They sell products without included any extra cost.
- Increase engagement: social commerce helps to increase engagement, it gives one more reason to use social networking websites.
- Branding: social commerce provides marketplace and branding to the local brands and saves their money, which helps the owner to sell their products at a minimum price and consumers get the best products at cheap rate.
Limitation of Social Commerce
- Low Buying intent: social media is usually used to connect with friends, family or social issues. People has low buying intent in social media. They do not want to but anything when they are spending time with family or friends.
- Few Product Categories: social commerce is still in developing stage. So it has few products categories only. So, it has one of the reason people do not prefer to buy at social commerce.
- Less Authenticity: As we said that social commerce is in still developing stage. Seller does not require to do any paperwork. Sometimes spammers take the advantages of it and make fool of the people.
- Lack of Privacy; buyers need to provide his personal details, such as address, telephone number, and so on to the seller. This is one of the reasons people don’t go with social commerce.
Examples of Social Commerce
- Facebook is one of the most popular social networking website. Now, Facebook has started its own social commerce platforms. It is providing a big platform to small business owner.
- Instagram is video and photo sharing website, it is one of rising social media websites. Instagram is providing its platform to business owners and giving them huge sales.
- Pinterest is a social photo sharing websites, it has features of selling products. Users can buy directly through the website.