Social commerce is a relatively new subset of e-commerce that has emerged due to the growing popularity of smartphones and tablets. The term refers to the use of social networks in the context of e-commerce activity, leveraging the social power of these networks to make commerce more interactive and dynamic. The term itself was introduced by Yahoo! in November of 2005 to identify a collection of e-commerce tools that had features that allowed users to share information with one another.
Social commerce today incorporates the use of social media tools and content in order to facilitate e-commerce. This type of commercial has become particularly common within the fashion industry, where people like to share the products that they find with one another on a regular basis. The commerce platforms that leverage social connectivity are able to sell these products quite quickly. This connectivity is one of the most alluring features of social commerce.
Many people tend to enjoy social commerce because it allows them to interact with their friends and families while shopping. This social aspect can have a major affect on whether or not someone will purchase a particular product. Being able to quickly access opinions from a potentially large group of consumers can help people find out more about particular products and whether or not these products are worth anything.
Businesses have shown interest in social commerce as well, as it exists as a dynamic way to engage consumers effectively. Mobile consumers have proven themselves to be particularly difficult to engage for any prolonged period of time. These people tend to spend a lot of time on social networks, however, which social commerce an effective way to engage these consumers.
The mobile commerce sector may yield the next multi-billion dollar startup.
These startups are somewhat rare, but tend to emerge in technology fields that are rife with competition yet have a great deal of consumer activity. There have been numerous mobile applications that have proven to be quite valuable over the years, and some of these apps are very simply in their offering of particular services and features. The mobile commerce space is currently filled with skilled developers and business professionals that are constantly producing innovative solutions.
Exactly what the next multi-billion dollar startup will be is difficult to say for certain. There are many factors that influence the mobile space and determine whether or not a startup will be successful. A startup can do everything in its power to comply with market trends and engage consumers successfully but still fail to find any traction in the mobile world. Startups that ignore market trends can sometimes find significant degrees of success as well. There is no decisive formula to follow when working to succeed in the mobile commerce world.
Because there is currently an extreme level of competition in the mobile commerce space, there is a great deal of potential for this sector to produce the next massively successful startup. Innovation thrives in competition and innovative startups are often rewarded with consumer attention. Large companies, like Facebook and Google, are often on the lookout for startups that are creating something new and engaging. These large companies tend to either invest in these startups or acquire them outright.
It could be years before a massively successful startup emerges in the mobile commerce world. Many startups are finding it difficult to overcome the security issues that are related to mobile payments. These organizations are also falling prey to other problems, including NFC technology failing to generate traction with some consumers and businesses, as well as growing tensions with larger organizations t hat are working to establish dominance in the mobile space.
