To complete the Commerce week today is all about the letter ‘S’ as in sCommerce. We have talked about eCommerce (electronic commerce) and mCommerce (mobile commerce, also electronic) and no it is the turn of sCommerce or social commerce.

It is to be expected that sCommerce is becoming more popular as the social media platforms it is driven by gain influence.  Bit is sCommerce simply getting your visitors to ‘Like’ your shop? Far from it sCommerce is powered by engagement.

Many businesses are failing to capitalise on this rapidly rising trend. Adding little more than adding a ‘Like’ button or setting up a Twitter feed. This is a great first step and gets you ready for the future but it is not a recipe for long-term success in sCommerce, which is likely to be one of the biggest generators of revenue for retailers over the next few years, but perhaps not just now. Even with the might of Facebook’s 800 million users their commerce project (shall we call it fCommerce?) was not successful. Most online retailers struggle to leverage social activities to increase their turnover.

Where newspaper advertising could be, and sometimes had to be, quite generic in its appeal and broad in its approach social commerce will thrive when retailers engage with their users and learn how to offer specific deals and products to the right people. Review sites are sketchy at the best of times. Who knows if the 1-star review was from a competitor and the 5-star reviews were written by the owner? Connection with people you trust and learning from their buying behaviour and brand choices will help retailers to discover people with influence who can be enticed into their product range and may become evangilists, spreading the word amongst those they influence. This is engagement, not with everyone but with those who can help you achieve your goals.

Unilever, the brand giant, have a clever approach. They invite users of social networks such as Facebook to ‘help them generate ideas and make their product better’. They offer points for engagement and even the chance of winning cash for ideas. This helps to make many feel like they are being heard and will help to generate loyalty. Almost as if they were ‘socialising’ with people who both talk and listen. Who would have thought social networking could mimic the real world! :)

sCommerce is not so much a new way of buying products but rather a way for retailers to market their goods and services and listen to feedback and the needs of their customers in an unobtrusive way, quickly and easily.

Have you got your social engagement started? Can you engage with your customers? Do you activly search out conversation about your brand and show the world you want to improve? If not its time to start, if you have started its time to get better!

AsOne can help setup and manage your social network and with our exclusive Innovation Club we can help to guide you through the ever shifting techniques to capitalise on this exciting medium. 

Did you know AsOne can build a fully featured eCommerce solution integrated into your social network for under £4000? Be up and running in weeks and capitalising on eCommerce instead of struggling on the high street. You can even spread the cost over 10 months interest free.

Have you ever used your smartphone to check prices before making a purchase? Its quick and easy and ensures you are getting the best price. Because of this ‘quick check’ mCommerce is becoming big news.

While checking prices it is easy simply complete the purchase on your phone. In the Christmas shopping rush you might even complete the process before you get served. Its part of the ‘try in store - buy online’ culture that is shifting sales from the high street to the internet. And you don’t even have to carry your bags home!

A shift in consumer behaviour is happening, Not only are we more likely to find out what other retailers are charging online and instore using our smartphones and tablets before we go shopping, we are also very likely to use our smartphones and other mobile devices while we are actually in store to check prices of competitor retailers?

Usablenet, the company who power so many US retail sites, states that mobile mobile traffic up 60% with iOS devices (iPhone, iPad etc.) being used by over half of mobile surfers. Statistics confirmed by AsOne’s eMail marketing statistics which also show over 50% of emails sent through our eShot system are opened on Apple devices with a tiny 5% opened on android and other smartphones. Apple users not only use their devices more smartly but are also more likely to purchase making iOS users a vital sector to target for digital marketing.

Shoppers also use their mobiles to read reviews on the products they might buy to help with the decision making process. Shoppers can now be directed to easy purchasing options while in the store of a competitor using GEO location, whats more, the shopper can be directed to other stores on the high street and tempted out of the shop they are in using the same location aware services.

Mobile promotions are an untapped market for many retailers and could be used to encourage more real world footfall. Its not just the ‘daily deal’ sites where you have to tempt in large number with massive discounts. Using services such as Facebook and Foursquare, AsOne can offer simple deals that can be the tipping point for mobile users to take a few more steps to your store when they are out shopping.

Shops should embrues the mobile technology and remind shoppers to ‘check in’ which will advertise to all their friends the are shopping there and reward them with vouchers or other offers.

Have you used your phone to get a better deal?

(Source: Flickr / fernando)