We often talk about social commerce in future terms – what’s in development, the ‘next big thing’, how eventually social commerce will hit its stride and we’ll find ourselves smack in the middle of ‘the year of online commerce.’ And like any savvy person who thinks the best is yet to come, we might hold off on fully embracing the potential of ecommerce, and wait to create and build that all-important first online store, convinced that the next social media development will be the time to strike.
Well, here at Gloople we say the time to strike is now. Make no mistake, this is the year of social commerce, ecommerce, f-commerce – however you think of it – and so are many, many years to come. Don’t think in terms of years when thinking about social commerce. Think decades – think centuries. Think – time to get started.
Time to start building that online store. After all, it’s predicted that sales from social commerce will reach $30billion worldwide by 2015. And social sharing will be at the heart of that. Your customers have discovered how easily and seamlessly social media lends itself to social shopping – in less time than it takes to think about a purchase, they can ask your friends, colleagues and family what they think. They can create and share exclusive discounts through GroupBuy, and they can rate, review and recommend their favourite purchases. Are those your products they’re purchasing?
Are you up to speed? Now is the time to research your target market(s), if you haven’t done so already. Who are your most profitable customers? Who convinces people to make purchases and share discounts? Is it the ones with 500 Facebook friends…or those with a few, close, trusted ones? Until you research, you don’t know, and if you don’t know, then you can’t capitalise on your knowledge. And capitalise you will, when you think that 90% of buyers trust recommendations from those they know, and 80% spend more money online as a result of a recommendation.
Time to bring social media to your online store. Facebook is a great place to start your social media journey, with 100m users regularly sharing their latest purchase and pushing reviews to their networks. Add a Like button and watch your business grow.
It’s clear your customers are reaping the rewards of social sharing in the world of ecommerce – but are you?