Social online-to-offline (SO2O) eCommerce is a business strategy designed to bring online social platform users to brick and mortar local shops as well as create a seamless digital experience before, during, and after. If a shop which is 1 km from your home, put a dress on social media and your 10 friends like it and 2 bought it, “Will you doubt the seller, quality, price or product?” – The trust is biggest strength of Social online-to-offline (SO2O) eCommerce. And most importantly you can walk 1 Km and return it if you dislike it.
Usually one buys something in case of need or in case you like it. Second case of ‘like” is common practice on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest & other social media. As in July 2014, Facebook announced a “New Way for People to Discover and Buy Products on Facebook” with the introduction of their first “Buy” call-to-action button.
As with Facebook, Twitter’s “Buy” button enables advertisers to share specific products in promoted posts and allows users to make purchases by simply clicking. With payment information and address details stored on Twitter, they never even have to leave their feed.
If there’s ever a place to go wild with envy, it’s Pinterest. After seeing just how powerful the platform was in influencing purchases—it drives more traffic to websites than any other social network besides Facebook—it hopped into the native selling circle with Buyable Pins.
When customers buy from offline businesses, they usually don’t need to worry about being scammed, and they have a really good opportunity to thoroughly inspect merchandise before paying for it. In the world of offline business, you don’t normally have to worry about losing sales because customers don’t trust you, and you don’t normally have to do anything to convince them they should trust you.
The things customers are concerned about eCommerce are mainly:
- They can’t normally see and inspect physical merchandise before purchasing
- They can’t be sure that your business really exists
- They can’t be certain that their transaction will be processed accurately
- They can’t be certain that you won’t charge additional items to them
- They don’t know if you will honor a money back guarantee
- They can’t be totally sure that what you are offering will suit their needs
What makes Social online-to-offline (SO2O) eCommerce uniquely appealing is that it benefits all parties involved, effectively boosting sales for partners and maintaining revenue for the social platform, all while keeping the customer happy.
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