Tag: mobile social media

WeStore platform combines mobile commerce with social media

LightInTheBox, an online retail company, recently launched its new WeStore platform, which combines social medial and mobile commerce. The platform is available for both Android and iOS devices and supports 18 languages and mobile Internet browsers. WeStore is meant to be driven by social networks, connecting consumers together and using this to encourage shopping online and the purchase or products. This is a concept that is becoming more important to the retail space known as social commerce.

Social commerce is gaining momentum in the retail space

Social commerce is relatively new and involves the blending of mobile shopping on social networks. Social media plays a significant role in the lives of mobile consumers and heavily supports social interaction among people throughout the world. Retailers can use social networks to effectively engage consumers. Many people also talk about their purchases on social media sites, which can influence other consumers and encourage them to purchase similar products from brands.

New platform could open up new opportunities in the e-commerce space for both consumers and retailers

WeStore allows users to create their own mobile store and sell products leveraging the power of social networks. Users can take pictures of the products they wish to sell and share these via social sites and apps, including Whatsapp. LightInTheBox believes that the platform will lead to new opportunities in domestic and international e-commerce, which may help further promote the growth of social commerce.

LightInTheBox reports a 30% increase in mobile revenue during the first quarter

At the end of March, LightInTheBox reported that it saw a 30% increase in mobile revenue during the first quarter of the year. The company’s net revenue has also increase by 7.4%, reaching $87.6 million, an increase from the $81.5 million it reported in the first quarter of 2014. Mobile commerce is showing healthy growth in various sectors and social media is beginning to grow more powerful in the mobile world. As the two continue to mingle, social commerce is likely to become a very powerful force in the retail space.

The head of mobile advertising has shared that these ads must be exceptionally relevant to consumers.

Jane Schachtel, the Facebook head of mobile and technology and global vertical marketing has explained that when it comes to social media marketing over smartphones and tablets, advertisers have to take that extra step to make sure that consumers are being treated as individuals and not as an overall general group.

The explanation was that mobile devices themselves are highly personal, so ads have to be, too.

She explained that as smartphones and tablets are very personal devices, social media marketing conducted over that channel must also be carefully personalized for the individual recipients. Though this does appear to be quite the significant effort, the reward for marketers that take this step is equally large. According to Schachtel, only about 2 percent ($16 billion) of the total glabl advertising spend is going to be put aside for mobile in 2015.

This means that mobile social media marketing has a considerable amount of room for growth.

She explained to the Mobile First conference audience that “This presents a huge opportunity.” She pointed out that the relationships that people have with their mobile devices has become much more complex and profound. Schachtel expressed that “People used to go to the mobile web to find one specific thing,” and added that “Then came the feed. … Now people discover, they share.”

When device users do this, they provide a considerable amount of information on websites – including Facebook – that can be utilized by mobile marketing companies in order to learn more about the individual what they want, what they like, and what they do not like.

That said, she also stated that “no one company has all the data.” Even Facebook doesn’t have all of the information that would be required to know everything about each individual consumer. Instead, there remain “ a lot of companies with a lot of data.” Therein lies the true challenge of mobile social media marketing. These various kinds of information must be carefully combined in order to be able to fully target and personalize the ads that consumers are receiving on their mobile devices.