E-Commerce has gone SOCIAL!

"It's a matter of time—within the next five or so years—before more business will be done on Facebook than Amazon" Sumeet Jain, Principal, CMEA Capital (Social Commerce Today, April 2011)

Recently I attended a workshop discussing the new trends in online shopping as they relate to Social Commerce. New statistics just from the beginning of this year alone can cause panic in the hearts, minds and pockets of any online store owner. Having your catalog of products on your website, “Buy Now” buttons and payment gateway setup is now simply just a standard practice of e-commerce.

The goals and metrics by which we measure our website traffic and success change with the evolution of social media. The reasons and places that online commerce take place are changing daily, and unfortunately, they are not trending towards your website. They are going social and mobile. With influences like Facebook friend's purchase recommendations, social plugins, group buying incentives or photos and videos from smartphones showing off user's acquisitions, it's obvious that social media is playing a pivotal role in the online purchasing process. Advocacy, loyalty, personalization and targeting are still players in the game, but the delivery has changed and can now provide higher value.

Think of Social Commerce as the “new mall”. Everyone is there. People watching. Catching up with familiar faces and checking out what others are wearing. What's hot and what's not. Shopping is a social sport. Online shoppers are motivated in similar ways, but rather than using window displays, it's now “curated” online products and recommendations from friends, families or even an anonymous consumer. Word of mouth is still the cornerstone of commercial activity. 71% of online shoppers say that reviews from family members or friends exert a "great deal" or "fair amount" of influence. (Harris Interactive, June 2010), and fans spend 117% more and are 41% more likely to recommend brands than a “non-fan” (Social Commerce Playbook, 360i.com).

So where does this leave us? Wikipedia defines it this way: "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." Using Facebook's already powerful framework, you can tap into their demographic metrics and really drive up the visibility of your product. This is not to say that Facebook is the only answer. Marketers will need to evaluate their entire brand building objectives, leverage their marketing arsenal and be sure to “conform” to the routines of social marketing. Another example is Amazon Mobile, which let's you quickly search, get product details and read reviews on millions of products available from Amazon.com and other merchants.

While many of us are not poised at this exact moment for this, the positive to take away from this is that we know how to get the best visibility for our brands. Social media continues to scale making it's impact far more measurable than previous marketing estimations. Your online store is a great first step. You have brand loyalty, but maybe it's time to upgrade your “social profile”. That is not to say, “recreate” your online catalog on Facebook. It's redundant, and more importantly it is ineffective.

In the past most technologies and media offerings were “premature” in their scalability, but now is the time to test and learn and get out ahead of this new exciting marketing window of opportunity. While some technologies fall short or are just outdated, expect many of the technical and functional challenges to be remedied in the near future, allowing you to concentrate on how these social interactions translate as performance indicators.

So, what does this all mean? What are the next steps? What's this going to cost us? Should our company/clients even do this? Is it necessary? Can I do this on my own?

Ultimately, emphasis needs to be placed on establishing an optimized user experience that can adapt to consumer preference. Pricing transparency, consumer reviews and channel consistency are paramount in an increasingly rational market. Online shopping will level the playing field for smaller brands by creating distribution opportunities and heightened awareness. Socially savvy shoppers will expect a seamless multi-channel presence that incorporates mobile, tablets, online and in-store consistency to remain sustainable.

Obviously you can imagine that as smartphone and tablet devices improve, social networks upgrade and technology moves forward, everything will change with it. It's a younger and more tech savvy consumer driving this transformation. The marketers that choose to invest in their social following and are not afraid to ask “What's next?” have the opportunity to cultivate their biggest fans and brand advocates by curating a solid foundation of ratings and reviews.

• Convert your Friends into Fans! 4 out of 5 purchases made online are the result of a recommendation (on social network or website). Identify “leading” fans as brand ambassadors.
• Sell a product and not a price point! Community & website specific products or unique specials can generate a "viral" effect increasing visibility and sales.
• Keep it social! Leave your online catalog on your website. Curate or highlight a few specific products in your social channels.
• Adapt and React. Recognize the latest changes and/or upgrades in technology to stay ahead of the competition, but to also be relevant to tech savvy consumers.

Cheers