JET8 Social, Where is Social Commerce headed?

Singapore, Globally we have seen the demand for fast and excellent customer service increase. Consumers want easy and reliable access to what they see on the internet regardless of the platform they are viewing the product or service on. Thus in our opinion the need for Social Commerce is on the rise and should not be underestimated.

Effective Social Commerce is long overdue in the purchasing cycle. With an increasing amount of time being spent on social networks, it is surprising to us that the concept of Social Commerce is still viewed as a novelty to some.

Completing the full consumer purchasing cycle, from seeing a product or service, reviewing and finally paying within the platform, is a consumer need on social networks. The introduction of Social Commerce satisfies this need, with consumers now being able to complete their transactions on some social platforms.

Countries such as China have well adapted to the concept of Social Commerce. We would say, Chinese netizens are creators of engaging content. Posting thoughtful content, content with intent. While it’s believed Westerners still need to adapt to this trend. According to an article by Vincent Digonnet, chairman of Asia Pacific at Razorfish, 75% of online Chinese users will post ratings and reviews monthly, compared to 20% of Western online users. Social Media is at the core of China’s brand engagement, while it is only a component for companies in the West.

A leading social network will soon offer its audience a store in their hands. You will be able to complete your purchase on the social network without leaving the platform. This will provide brands another opportunity to offer their customers a branded e-commerce experience.

According to The motley Fool — April 29th, 2019, Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, “We’re going to build more tools for people to buy things directly through the platform,” Zuckerberg told analysts. “As those products that we build help businesses convert better, it will be more valuable to them and therefore that will translate into higher bids for the advertising.”

Zuckerberg sees the “selling factor” as an opportunistic way for Facebook to receive higher bids for their advertising. At JET8 it’s about distributing the ad spend to users who have created the content: hence the people are the media when using JET8 technology.

Gerjo Hoffman, Global Head of Sales and Marketing of JET8, said: “It seems tech companies like Tencent understand that the future is not push advertising but rather pull. Furthermore, there is also a focus on monetising through commerce transactions and not advertising. Therefore, they are much more interested in driving transactions. The way they do this in WeChat is real social commerce. In WeChat engagement with a brand or service ultimately translates into a sale. On other social media platforms this is not possible and there is no way to see how an engagement translates into sales especially with offline sales. In the case of JET8 this is all possible and can be measured and tracked.”

Social media networks are always involving, and more consumers are using their social media platforms as the first point of research, replacing the function of a website. With more social networks eventually offering e-commerce directly on the platform, it leaves us wondering if online e-commerce sites will remain relevant in an ever-changing digital ecosystem.

For media inquiries, please contact:
[email protected] , PR and Social Media Manager