E-commerce transforming to Social Commerce
In the past 10 years, E – commerce has taken such a toll in our day to day life. People in early days were very hesitant in purchasing any product through websites because they always had a cognizance of touching and feeling the product then only purchasing it.
E – Commerce has brought a storm in people’s mind and has changed their perception. E – Commerce in western culture has become so famous that right from basic necessities to luxury products, all are bought through internet. The changing lifestyle of people is the key to growth in online shopping. It not only saves money and energy but also saves a lot of time and gives opportunity to choose goods at the best prices. It also facilitates researching and purchasing goods without the hassles of crowds, parking and checkout lines. The most important factors for E site to work are Lead time of Delivery and Packaging. All the small entrepreneurs are venturing into E-commerce. More and more people are shopping online and creating new opportunities for Internet sale. The various trends which these entrepreneurs are adopting to promote the products and to gain maximum from e-sale business in the year 2011 are:
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Social Commerce: The social networking sites integrated to e-commerce. The use of social networking tools such as tweet this’ or ‘post link to Facebook’ has been widespread in 2010 but now the move will be integrating social networking with customers shopping.
For Eg: The Handicrafts and handlooms Export Corporation has integrated its Facebook profile to the payment gateway where customers can directly purchase from Facebook and they don’t have to browse the third window for that matter.
http://www.facebook.com/hheconline?sk=app_135607783795
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Group buying sites: This decade has seen launch of number of e-commerce portals where all kind of products are sold: Fresh, used or stock lot. Websites such as: Ebay.com, Alibaba.com, Indiamart.com, Tradeindia.com, Overstock.com, infibeam.com, amazon.com, snapdeal.com, fashionandyou.com etc. These websites attract more than 1 crore unique visitors per month. They market the products very aggressively through E-mails, SMS etc.
For eg: The web page of Handicrafts and handlooms Export corporation can be seen on Indiamart.com:
http://www.indiamart.com/hh-exportscorp/
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Videos and streaming media: The use of Videos to promote the brand will continue to grow rapidly. Customer experiences will be shared over videos on you tube and other websites. The visual display of the products can always increase the brand visibility.
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Customization: Personalised services will always remain popular. Due to the ever increasing role of e-commerce in the day to day lives of consumers, businesses will focus on delivering personalised service to customers. Websites will offer a more personalised user experience to shoppers. Websites and portals will deliver tailored content and options to customers in order to offer a more enriching and faster shopping experience.
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