Social commerce
Encyclopedia
Social commerce is a subset of electronic commerce
that involves using social media
, online media that supports social interaction and user contributions, to assist in the online buying and selling of products and services.
More succinctly, social commerce is the use of social network(s) in the context of e-commerce transactions.
The term social commerce was introduced by Yahoo! in November 2005 to describe a set of online collaborative shopping tools such as shared pick lists, user ratings and other user-generated content
-sharing of online product information and advice.
The concept of social commerce was developed by David Beisel to denote user-generated advertorial content on e-commerce sites, and by Steve Rubel
to include collaborative e-commerce tools that enable shoppers "to get advice from trusted individuals, find goods and services and then purchase them". The social networks that spread this advice have been found to increase the customer's trust in one retailer over another.
Today, the area of social commerce has been expanded to include the range of social media tools and content used in the context of e-commerce, especially in the fashion industry
. Examples of social commerce include customer ratings and reviews, user recommendations and referrals, social shopping
tools (sharing the act of shopping online), forums and communities, social media optimization
, social applications and social advertising
.
Some academics have sought to distinguish "social commerce" from "social shopping
", referring to social commerce as collaborative networks of online vendors, and social shopping as collaborative activity of online shoppers.
, either through Facebook directly or through the Facebook Open Graph. In March 2010, 1.5 million businesses had pages on Facebook that were built using Facebook Markup Language (FBML). A year later, in March 2011, Facebook deprecated FBML and adopted iframes. Among other things, this allowed developers to gather more information about their Facebook visitors.
Other:
Electronic commerce
Electronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce, eCommerce or e-comm, refers to the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. However, the term may refer to more than just buying and selling products online...
that involves using social media
Social media
The term Social Media refers to the use of web-based and mobile technologies to turn communication into an interactive dialogue. Andreas Kaplan and Michael Haenlein define social media as "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological and technological foundations of Web 2.0,...
, online media that supports social interaction and user contributions, to assist in the online buying and selling of products and services.
More succinctly, social commerce is the use of social network(s) in the context of e-commerce transactions.
The term social commerce was introduced by Yahoo! in November 2005 to describe a set of online collaborative shopping tools such as shared pick lists, user ratings and other user-generated content
User-generated content
User generated content covers a range of media content available in a range of modern communications technologies. It entered mainstream usage during 2005 having arisen in web publishing and new media content production circles...
-sharing of online product information and advice.
The concept of social commerce was developed by David Beisel to denote user-generated advertorial content on e-commerce sites, and by Steve Rubel
Steve Rubel
Steve Rubel is a public relations executive and blogger. While with the firm CooperKatz & Co., he advised clients on using blogs in their business strategy and started his own blog, Micro Persuasion, in 2004...
to include collaborative e-commerce tools that enable shoppers "to get advice from trusted individuals, find goods and services and then purchase them". The social networks that spread this advice have been found to increase the customer's trust in one retailer over another.
Today, the area of social commerce has been expanded to include the range of social media tools and content used in the context of e-commerce, especially in the fashion industry
Social Media in the Fashion Industry
Social Media in the Fashion Industry is a marketing style that allows brands to connect with their target market through social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube...
. Examples of social commerce include customer ratings and reviews, user recommendations and referrals, social shopping
Social shopping
Social Shopping is a method of e-commerce where shoppers' friends become involved in the shopping experience. Social shopping attempts to use technology to mimic the social interactions found in physical malls and stores.-Five categories of social shopping:...
tools (sharing the act of shopping online), forums and communities, social media optimization
Social Media Optimization
Social media optimization is the methodization of social media activity with the intent of attracting unique visitors to website content. SMO is one of many online methods of website optimization...
, social applications and social advertising
Social Advertising
Social Advertising represents ad formats that engage the social context of the user viewing the ad. Whereas in traditional, non-social, advertising the ad is targeted based on what it knows about the individual person or the individual page, in social advertising the ad is targeted based on what...
.
Some academics have sought to distinguish "social commerce" from "social shopping
Social shopping
Social Shopping is a method of e-commerce where shoppers' friends become involved in the shopping experience. Social shopping attempts to use technology to mimic the social interactions found in physical malls and stores.-Five categories of social shopping:...
", referring to social commerce as collaborative networks of online vendors, and social shopping as collaborative activity of online shoppers.
Facebook Commerce
Facebook commerce, f-commerce, and f-comm refer to the buying and selling of goods or services through FacebookFacebook
Facebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
, either through Facebook directly or through the Facebook Open Graph. In March 2010, 1.5 million businesses had pages on Facebook that were built using Facebook Markup Language (FBML). A year later, in March 2011, Facebook deprecated FBML and adopted iframes. Among other things, this allowed developers to gather more information about their Facebook visitors.
Notable social commerce sites
- FacebookFacebookFacebook is a social networking service and website launched in February 2004, operated and privately owned by Facebook, Inc. , Facebook has more than 800 million active users. Users must register before using the site, after which they may create a personal profile, add other users as...
- GrouponGrouponGroupon is a deal-of-the-day website that features discounted gift certificates usable at local or national companies. Groupon was launched in November 2008, the first market for Groupon was Chicago, followed soon thereafter by Boston, New York City, and Toronto...
- LivingSocialLivingSocial-Business model:LivingSocial offers a new deal each day to its members who subscribe via email. Once a deal has been purchased, members are e-mailed their redemption vouchers the following business day, around 5 a.m. local time...
Other:
- TabjuiceTabjuiceTabJuice is a Facebook commerce application developed for small businesses. It was initially marketed towards the fashion industry to take advantage of independent fashion brands' strong interest in establishing e-commerce presences. The company is headquartered in San Diego, California and was...
- ShopSociallyShopSociallyFounded in 2009, ShopSocially is a free social shopping website operated from Sunnyvale, California. ShopSocially became available for public beta testing in May 2010 and was officially launched in October 2010. In April 2011, ShopSocially launched a Consumer-to-consumer marketing platform for...
- BuyWithMeBuyWithMeBuyWithMe is a group buying website allowing consumers to leverage group buying power to get discounts with local merchants. The company is headquartered in New York City. Funding was obtained via a group of angel investors. BuyWithMe's first market was Boston, where restaurants including UFood...
- EtsyEtsyEtsy is an e-commerce website focused on handmade or vintage items as well as art and craft supplies. These items cover a wide range including art, photography, clothing, jewelry, edibles, bath & beauty products, quilts, knick-knacks and toys. Many individuals also sell craft supplies like beads,...
- StuffBuffStuffBuff-History:StuffBuff is an auction platform based on the use of social and real-time technology. It was founded my Michael Langer October 1, 2008 and premiered as a TechCrunch50 in 2009. Unique to StuffBuff is their use of embedded auction windows that allow for auction hosting anywhere the embed...
- Cafepress
- KactoosKactoosKactoos is a social network service and group buying site created by Kactoos Group and headquartered in Miami, Florida. Its slogan is "Shop together and save". Kactoos is available in Spanish, English and Portuguese....
- LockerzLockerzLockerz.com is an international social commerce website based out of Seattle, WA. The site claimed 19 million members as of July 2011 in 195 different countries....
See also
- Electronic commerceElectronic commerceElectronic commerce, commonly known as e-commerce, eCommerce or e-comm, refers to the buying and selling of products or services over electronic systems such as the Internet and other computer networks. However, the term may refer to more than just buying and selling products online...
- Social shoppingSocial shoppingSocial Shopping is a method of e-commerce where shoppers' friends become involved in the shopping experience. Social shopping attempts to use technology to mimic the social interactions found in physical malls and stores.-Five categories of social shopping:...
- Social networks
- Web 2.0Web 2.0The term Web 2.0 is associated with web applications that facilitate participatory information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design, and collaboration on the World Wide Web...
- The Cluetrain ManifestoThe Cluetrain ManifestoThe Cluetrain Manifesto is a set of 95 theses organized and put forward as a manifesto, or call to action, for all businesses operating within what is suggested to be a newly-connected marketplace....