Electronic Commerce

05 SOCIAL COMMERCE
E-Commerce Division – Faculty of E-Commerce
Concepts, Characteristics, and Benefits of Social
Commerce
 Definitions of Social Commerce
Social commerce (SC) , also known as social business,
refers to e-commerce transactions delivered via social
media.

Slide 2
Concepts, Characteristics, and Benefits of Social
Commerce
 The major roots of social commerce

Slide 3
Concepts, Characteristics, and Benefits of Social
Commerce
 Major Dimensions of Social Commerce

Slide 4
Concepts, Characteristics, and Benefits of Social
Commerce
 Major Differences between E-
Commerce and Social Commerce

Slide 5
Concepts, Characteristics, and Benefits of Social
Commerce
 Benefits of Social Commerce

Slide 6
Concepts, Characteristics, and Benefits of Social
Commerce
 Benefits of Social Commerce (continued)

Slide 7
 Social Shopping: Concepts, Models, and Aids

 Definitions of Social Shopping

Social shopping (also known as sales 2.0 ) is online
shopping with social media tools and platforms.
 Roles in Social Commerce
̶ Connectors. These are the people with contacts that introduce people
to each other.
̶ Salesmen. Like their offline counter-parts, salesmen’s major effort is to
influence shoppers to buy.
̶ Seekers. These consumers seek advice and information about
shopping and services from experts, friends, and mavens.
̶ Mavens. Mavens are recognized, but are unofficial experts in certain
domains that can provide positive or negative recommendations to
advice seekers.
̶ Self-sufficients. These people work on their own and do not like to be
influenced.
̶ Unclassifieds. Most people do not belong to any one of the above
categories.
Slide 8
 Social Shopping: Concepts, Models, and Aids

 Benefits of Social Shopping

̶ Discover products/services that never knew existed.
̶ Interact with vendor (brand) representatives easily
and quickly.
̶ Confidence and trust in online shopping may increase
due to engagement and interactions with friends.
̶ Get super deals via group buying, daily specials, and
more.
̶ Exchange shopping tips with your friends, fans, and
others.
̶ Build and share wish lists.
̶ Shop together with people like you.

Slide 9
 Social Shopping: Concepts, Models, and Aids

 Major Models of Social Shopping

o Group buying
o Deal purchases (flash sales)
o Shopping together in real-time
o Online shopping communities
o Private online shopping clubs
o Social marketplaces
o Shopping for virtual goods
o Other innovative models

Slide 10
 Applications of Social Commerce
 Social Enterprise (Enterprise 2.0)
Social enterprise refers to the use of social media tools
and platforms and conducting social networking activities
in organizations while its major objectives are either
commercial or non-profit activities
o Benefits of Enterprise Social Networking
̶ Improve collaboration inside the enterprise and with
business partners
̶ Facilitate knowledge management (increase access to
specialized knowledge)
̶ Build better customer and employee relationships
̶ Facilitate recruiting and employee retention
̶ Increase business and marketing opportunities
̶ Reduce operation, communication, and travel costs
Slide 11
 Applications of Social Commerce
o Benefits of Enterprise Social Networking (continued)
̶ Increase sales and revenue
̶ Improve customer satisfaction
̶ Reduce marketing and advertising costs
̶ Improve employee and organizational performance
̶ Foster internal and external relationships
̶ Collect feedback from employees
̶ Build an effective workforce
̶ Improve decision-making capabilities
̶ “Spy” on competitors (intelligence gathering)
̶ Find experts and advice (internally and externally)
̶ Improve customer service and CRM
̶ Accelerate innovation and competitive advantage

Slide 12
 Applications of Social Commerce
 Business-Oriented Public Social
Networking
 Applications of Social Commerce
in Virtual Worlds
 Social Entertainment
 Social Games and Gamification
 Crowdsourcing for Problem Solving
and Content Creation
 Social Collaboration (Collaboration
2.0)

Slide 13
Limitations of Conducting Social Commerce

 Major barriers to adopt Enterprise 2.0

̶ Resistance to change,
̶ Difficulty in measuring ROI,
̶ Difficulties of integration with existing IT systems and
security.
 Top concerns in deployment of social
business
(1) Security liability exposures
(2) Doubts about ability to govern effectively
(3) Poor integration
(4) Doubts about ROI/value
(5) Poor organizational buy-in
Slide 14