

In light of this development, it is not surprising that the number of publications focusing on social commerce has been rising over the last few years. Thus, social commerce as an emerging phenomenon at the interplay of social media and electronic commerce is of global interest for marketers, businesses, and researchers alike (Wang and Zhang 2012). Chinese consumers adopted social commerce services quickly, with already 56 % of all Chinese online consumers buying products via social media platforms (PricewaterhouseCoopers 2013).
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Social commerce has the potential to become a significant sales channel in the future: Already in 2011 5 % of all online and offline shoppers worldwide purchased at least one item via a social media platform (PricewaterhouseCoopers 2013). 215) and leverage the effects of enhanced social interaction within social media platforms (Liang and Turban 2011 Marsden 2010 Rubel 2005). Thus, the emergence of social media has created opportunities for new business models and delivery platforms in electronic commerce referred to as social commerce (Liang and Turban 2011).īroadly defined, social commerce platforms “allow people to participate actively in the marketing and selling of products and services in online marketplaces and communities” (Stephen and Toubia 2010, p. 69) and through social communities consumers have the potential to affect the buying decisions of much larger communities (Afrasiabi Rad and Benyoucef 2011). Consumers may also “consult their social community to seek advice in their purchasing decisions” (Liang et al.

At the same time, they are encouraged by social media features to articulate their affinity or dislike towards products and services (Lipsman et al. Nowadays, users of social media can easily share product information (Liang et al.

The rising popularity of social media sites, such as Facebook, Google+, and Twitter, has influenced the behavior of consumers fundamentally.
