Social commerce refers to the use of social media to assist in the online buying and selling of products and services. Social commerce leverages social shopping behaviors when online shoppers interact and collaborate during the shopping experience.
Social commerce channels include reviews and ratings (on review sites or branded e-commerce sites), deal sites and deal aggregators (aggregate deals into personalized deal feeds), social shopping markets (online malls featuring user-recommended products, reviews, and the ability to communicate with friends while shopping), and social storefronts (online retail stores that sometimes operate within a social site like Facebook with social capabilities). (1)
Social Commerce Example – Fab.com
Fab.com most closely resembles a deal-oriented Target.com version of social shopping. The social shopping site provides product offerings in department store categories, many available at discount prices through flash sales. Along with constantly changing flash sales, the site is organized by department categories, New Arrivals, Gifts for You, Featured Deals, and Clearance sections.
As for the social aspects, next to each product a small heart icon with a number count displays how many times an item has been favorited by other members. Clicking on the heart icon adds the product to your custom wishlist. You can shop on a traditional retail site dashboard or switch to a pin-board style layout, where product pictures are displayed along with expiration date, price, and the number of favorites. Focused on providing the best prices on unique items, Fab offers a Best Price Match policy offering price matching for lower prices on products discovered up to 14 days after your purchase. (2)
References
- Social Media Marketing, https://zonesofsmm.wordpress.com/about-2/
- 10 Best Social Shopping Sites Right Now, http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2424710,00.asp
