Analysis of Opportunities and Challenges in Social E-Commerce

This report examines the opportunities and challenges within the realm of social electronic commerce. It begins with an introduction to the topic, highlighting the integration of social media and e-commerce and the rise of social search. The project objectives are outlined, focusing on unde...Read More

Running head: OPPORTUNITIES AND PROBLEMS OF SOCIAL ELECTRONIC
COMMERCE
Opportunities and Problems of Social Electronic Commerce
Name of Student:
Name of University:
Author’s Note:

1OPPORTUNITIES AND PROBLEMS OF SOCIAL ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Project Objective.............................................................................................................................2
Project Scope...................................................................................................................................3
Literature Review............................................................................................................................3
Challenges for Social E-Commerce.................................................................................................7
Opportunities for Social E-Commerce............................................................................................7
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................8
Reference List................................................................................................................................10

2OPPORTUNITIES AND PROBLEMS OF SOCIAL ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
Answer to Question 1:
Introduction
In general social media and ecommerce are considered as one of the most fastest and
sophisticated successor of the old fashioned advertising trends. It has been observed that social
network has allowed people for exchange of views and share their experience of the transactions.
The rise of social search in the search engines has been identified as the main source to find
information related to products, which has led to popularity of Social e-commerce. In several
occasions the consumers don’t search the entire internet, but often contact with their respective
friends on Facebook or contacts on LinkedIn or Twitter. It has been often seen that consumers of
all age group share stheir respective experience on the products and brands and consider the
buying it only when recommended by others. In the leading ecommerce sites, it has been seen
consumer rating feedback and product ratings play a vital aspect of social ecommerce (Ijctet.org.
2017).
The report has aimed to review the literature associated to the general opportunities and
the challenges social ecommerce and then further prepare a propose a study to state about the
present challenges.
Project Objective
The various types of the process objective have been stated below as follows:
 To know about the general opportunities and challenges in social ecommerce
 To know about the relevance of social ecommerce in the recent times
 To know about the current opportunities in social ecommerce

3OPPORTUNITIES AND PROBLEMS OF SOCIAL ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
 To know about the current challenges in social ecommerce
 To suggest strategies to overcome the challenges in social ecommerce
Project Scope
The project has been seen with a limited scope in the areas of social ecommerce. It has
not shown the in-depth analysis of the challenges and opportunities in ecommerce, instead the
research will focus on the relevant facets of social ecommerce.
Literature Review
Social E-Commerce
The term was coined in November 2005 by Yahoo to support the collaborative shopping
tools such as user rating, shared pick lists and user generated content for online product
information and advice. Social E-Commerce is considered as a subset of general ecommerce and
it involves the consideration of online media and social media to support the user contributions
and social interactions in assisting of the online buying and selling process. The use of the social
ecommerce has been seen to be evident in use with social network(s) in the context of e-
commerce transactions. The process of social ecommerce has been seen to assist the companies
in engaging in terms of brands as per social behaviour of the customers. It has been further able
to provide incentives for the customer to come back to their websites. It also provides the
opportunities to the customers to talk about the brand. It has been also seen to provide the
opportunity to compare and choose the competitor (Visenze.com. 2017).
The main elements of social commerce are stated below as follows:

4OPPORTUNITIES AND PROBLEMS OF SOCIAL ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
Reciprocity- This has been seen to be provide the various type the opportunities which are
associated to the person feeling the need to return the favour, which may be done either by return
of favour or giving recommendations.
Community – When an individual is seen to share a particular value then the people of that
community feel that the product or the services is seen to be acceptable in nature. This particular
trend of the buying patter is further seen to be carried on the by the various types of the members
of the community. It has been seen to be beneficial for the company to state about eh various
types the involvement of the product and develop the engagement in social partnerships thorough
building partnerships (Companies.bnpparibasfortis.be. 2017).
Social Proof- This has been identified with the fact to receive the various types of the positive
feedback associated to the show the proof of purchasing of similar things. This particular trend
has been particularly seen to be evident in the companies such as eBay and Amazon. This has
been further seen to allow for the immediate action of generating list showing the purchases.
This has been further seen to be conducive to the seller in building positive trust (Arxiv.org.
2017).
Authority- Many people have been seen to show the proof based on the will to consider social
feedback and show the proof of other people buying or liking the similar products. In case the
number of users has been seen to be more then the proof of recommendation will be based on the
various types of recommendation which are bought at the same time. In case there have been
several reviews about a particular product. In case there are several user reviews about a product
and consumers willing to trust their own a decision for purchasing an items (Salacka and Salacka
2017).

5OPPORTUNITIES AND PROBLEMS OF SOCIAL ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
Liking- People has been seen to trust on the various types of quality of product based on the
likes of particular product.
Scarcity- This has been identified as a major part of supply chain and is seen to be assigned with
high demand or with shortage. Hence, in case a person is convinced of purchasing which is
unique or not easy to acquire, they will be having more willingness to make the appropriate
purchase. This has been seen to be particularly applicable for Zara and Apple Inc, whi has been
able to convince the public in possibility of missing out on purchase (Ysearchblog.com. 2017).
Some of the main features of the social commerce have been discussed with the
“BankInter Foundation for Innovation conference on Social Technologies”, which has been
further related to the 6 C’s of the Social technologies. Some of them has been listed below as
follows:
Content- The basic needs for the customers have been considered with the engagement of the
stakeholders, customer and the various types of the prospects which has been published in the
web. Some of the early examples of this have been evident in terms of the brochure sites for
organizations which have matured in vast amount and growing material consideration, which has
been published in web and real time. Google has been seen to be such an organisation which is
seen to be responsible forefront of indexing and making of findable content in the web (Www-
03.ibm.com. 2017).
Community- The audience treatment with the community has been further seen to be based on
the sole objective of fulfilling customer needs via tangible value. The early community
incarnations has been mobilized with the engagement and the registration done via email. This
has been further seen to be included in the chat rooms, online forums and the various types of the

6OPPORTUNITIES AND PROBLEMS OF SOCIAL ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
membership groups with Yahoo Groups. The Social networks are further seen to be based on
various types of the integration of the communities such as Facebook and Yahoo! Groups for the
various types of the discussions associated to interpersonal interactions
(Digitalintelligencetoday.com. 2017).
Commerce – This has been seen with treating the audience with the objective to build
sustainable relationship by providing of tangible value. The early incarnations of the community
has been considered based on transactional web presence, typically seen with travel sales,
insurance companies and retail banks.
Context – The online world has been seen to be based on the various types of the considerations
with the presence in mobile devices. The online payment process can be further preceded with
Google checkout or the check in at the physical location via Google checkout at the physical
locations via Foursquare and Facebook in the online data entity. This is an important aspect of
social commerce (Katz et al. 2017).
Connection – The online world is able to track the real world an event primarily enables in the
mobile electronics. The various types of the scope of relationships has been further identified in
terms of the interactions which takes place among the individuals and the varisddou types ot
actions based on social commerce.
Conversation – The Cluetrain Manifesto has been particularly seen to be noted with the various
types of the considerations which are seen to be related to the social conversations related to the
conversations in the market.

7OPPORTUNITIES AND PROBLEMS OF SOCIAL ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
Challenges for Social E-Commerce
Security and Privacy- It has been seen with various types of the privacy issues which have been
seen to be related to the different types of the security and privacy concern. It has been seen that
the knowledge of the personal information of the customer may be detrimental to the position of
the individual reputation. It has been further discerned that the different type of the
considerations associated to the challenge may arise from the online payment of money for the
delivery of the product.
Possibility of wrong recommendation- In several cases the feedbacks provided in the responses
may lead to various types of the problems which are seen to be associated to the different types
the problems which may be possible due to a layman recommending a product to the other
customers. It has been further seen that in several occasions that the other users may be
recommending a certain product without using it for a long tenure.
Opportunities for Social E-Commerce
Some of the main opportunities for the social ecommerce have been seen to given below as
follows:
Engagement of customers with Social Behaviour: The opportunity for the Social E Commerce
companies has been has been seen with engagement of the customers with the different brands as
per the social behaviours. This has been seen to be conducive in taking of the various types of
the decision related to online purchase of a product.
Incentive to the customers: The incentives of the customers are seen to be based on the various
types of the decision which are seen to be associated to the feedback of the customers. In several
occasions various types of the ecommerce websites has been seen to related the feedback of the

8OPPORTUNITIES AND PROBLEMS OF SOCIAL ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
customers which are accredited by several other buyers and this in turn is seen to be based on the
various types of the incentive program for providing the appropriate information about the
product.
Provides the opportunity to talk about the product- The Social ecommerce has been seen
with an immense potential to showcase the individual opinion about a product. It has been
further seen that the various types of the options to take a survey about the delivery quality and
the feedback section has been seen to be conducive in proving specific feedback of product.
Opportunity to compare the products: The main importance of the social ecommerce has been
seen with the opportunity to research, compare and to know about the various specifications of
the competitors. This has been identified to be one of the biggest advantages of using social
ecommerce services.
Conclusion
The study has proposed to state the various facets of the Social Ecommerce. The main
forms of the review of literature have stated that the opportunities have been identified with the
engagement of the customers with the different brands as per the social behaviours. This has
been seen to be conducive in taking of the various types of the decision related to online
purchase of a product. The various types of the other present opportunities has been identified
incentives of the customers are seen to be based on the various types of the decision which are
seen to be associated to the feedback of the customers. In several occasions various types of the
ecommerce websites has been seen to related the feedback of the customers which are accredited
by several other buyers and this in turn is seen to be based on the various types of the incentive
program for providing the appropriate information about the product. The present challenges

9OPPORTUNITIES AND PROBLEMS OF SOCIAL ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
have been considered with immense potential to showcase the individual opinion about a
product. It has been further seen that the various types of the options to take a survey about the
delivery quality and the feedback section has been seen to be conducive in proving specific
feedback of product.

10OPPORTUNITIES AND PROBLEMS OF SOCIAL ELECTRONIC COMMERCE
Reference List
Arxiv.org. (2017). [online] Available at:
https://arxiv.org/PS_cache/arxiv/pdf/1104/1104.0942v1.pdf [Accessed 18 Aug. 2017].
Companies.bnpparibasfortis.be. (2017). Social media and e-commerce: opportunities and risks.
[online] Available at: https://companies.bnpparibasfortis.be/en/article?n=social-media-and-e-
commerce-opportunities-and-risks [Accessed 18 Aug. 2017].
Digitalintelligencetoday.com. (2017). [online] Available at:
http://digitalintelligencetoday.com/documents/Bazaarvoice_2012.pdf [Accessed 18 Aug. 2017].
Ijctet.org. (2017). [online] Available at: http://ijctet.org/assets/upload/526ijctet-12-nov-dec-
2014(pn%2023-28).pdf [Accessed 18 Aug. 2017].
Katz, R., Litsa, T., Roberts, A., Litsa, T. and Litsa, T. (2017). Top 5 Social Marketing Trends for
Brands to Watch in 2015 | ClickZ. [online] Clickz.com. Available at:
https://www.clickz.com/top-5-social-marketing-trends-for-brands-to-watch-in-2015/28989/
[Accessed 18 Aug. 2017].
Salacka, D. and Salacka, D. (2017). What are the biggest E-Commerce Challenges and Trends of
2017?. [online] ECN | E-Commerce Nation. Available at:
https://www.ecommerce-nation.co/ecommerce-challenges-trends-2017/ [Accessed 18 Aug.
2017].
Social Media Today. (2014). 4 Core Social Commerce Trends In 2014. [online] Available at:
http://www.socialmediatoday.com/content/4-core-social-commerce-trends-2014 [Accessed 18
Aug. 2017].
Visenze.com. (2017). 5 Great social commerce sites you can learn from. [online] Available at:
https://www.visenze.com/blog/5-great-social-commerce-sites-you-can-learn-from [Accessed 18
Aug. 2017].
Www-03.ibm.com. (2017). IBM - Software - WebSphere Commerce . [online] Available at:
http://www-03.ibm.com/software/products/en/websphere-commerce [Accessed 18 Aug. 2017].
Ysearchblog.com. (2017). Access Denied. [online] Available at:
http://www.ysearchblog.com/2005/11/14/social-commerce-via-the-shoposphere-pick-lists/
[Accessed 18 Aug. 2017].