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Shoppable Social: The Future Of Online Commerce

1PaypalWe’ve all heard the buzz about shoppable social media, but many retailers are still trying to figure out how to leverage it. In this Q&A, Aunkur Arya, Braintree’s General Manager of Mobile, shares details about the new tools and strategies that are changing the game in e-Commerce.

What Is Contextual Commerce?

Contextual commerce enables consumers to purchase a product or service the moment it is needed. For example, as you are finishing dinner at a restaurant you might need a ride home. This would be the perfect time for your Uber app to offer you a car. Contextual commerce means giving people purchasing options that are relevant to their location, activities and interests.

How Does Shoppable Social Media Fit In?

Social media already offers retailers highly targeted and effective advertising. The obvious next step is to merge this sophisticated data aggregation on hundreds of millions of users with e-Commerce. This will change the consumer experience on social media, because rather than just viewing relevant ads while browsing Facebook or Pinterest, consumers will be able to make purchases directly from the social media platform. For example, in addition to “pinning” a product I like while browsing Pinterest, I’ll soon be able to order it in just a few taps, without clicking away from my Pinterest feed.

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Shoppable social platforms will enable businesses to leverage social media’s vast data about consumers’ tastes and interests, and use that to deliver highly targeted advertising, but also take it a step further and make the purchasing process simple and seamless. This is a big win for consumers, the businesses who sell to them, and the social media platforms that will host the shopping experience.  

What Role Does Mobile Play In The “Shoppable Social” Future?

Mobile devices and shoppable social together will enable the full potential of contextual commerce. Social networks are currently developing tools to enable simple, seamless, one-touch purchasing from within their mobile apps.

As we interact with social media when we are working, out having fun with friends, or running errands, there are countless opportunities for businesses to present us with purchasing possibilities. In the near future, a business will be able to leverage data on consumers’ preferences and their current location, and then let them make a purchase or claim an offer from directly within their Facebook or Instagram app on their smartphone.

What Types Of Merchants Should Be Watching Contextual Commerce/Shoppable Social Media The Most? Is It For Everyone?

In today’s world, social media is an integral part of our daily lives. If businesses want to effectively reach consumers, then they should be paying attention to shoppable social. Anyone engaged in retail or selling services would benefit from getting a ‘buy’ button distributed to their customers wherever they are.  

What Are The Benefits To Interacting With Customers Through Social Media, As Opposed To More Traditional Forms Of Selling?

There are a few things that make social media an important place to target consumers. First, as we noted earlier, social media platforms have unparalleled data to help advertisers and merchants target what sort of ad or offer they should put in front of each individual consumer.

In addition, we really can’t ignore the fact that social media has become a tremendous part of our lives. Consumers actively update their Facebook status and Instagram feed multiple times throughout the day, from home, from restaurants, from events and activities. Ignoring social media means completely missing out one of the most effective ways to engage with your audience.

Lastly, shoppable social will allow retailers to remove the friction between showing a highly targeted ad to a consumer and actually ‘closing the deal’. To use an example, if my social media site knows that I like a specific kind of coffee, I can be shown a special offer or ad from it, particularly if I’m in the vicinity of that store. But if I have to click away from Facebook to claim an offer or make a purchase, there’s a couple of clicks worth of friction where the deal can easily be lost. The highly targeted ad isn’t as effective if the consumer still has to experience this friction between seeing an offer and actually making a purchase. What shoppable social will do is remove those extra clicks, take away the friction, and ultimately allow the buyer to complete his transaction with one or two taps from directly within the social media app.

What Are Some Roadblocks For Merchants Looking To Adopt Shoppable Social Media, And How Can They Overcome Them?

While not a new concept, shoppable social is still in the proof-of-concept stage. Within the next year there will be a lot more clarity around how businesses of every size can participate in this emerging marketplace. This is a very exciting time in the world of e-Commerce and we look forward to being a part of what’s next in the shoppable social future.


 Aunkur Arya is GM for Braintree’s mobile business, leading the company’s business and partnership efforts across the mobile ecosystem. Braintree was acquired by PayPal for $800 million at the end of 2013. Prior to Braintree, Arya was at Google where he worked on partnerships for Google Wallet. He came to Google via the company’s acquisition of AdMob, where he led all partnership efforts within the mobile app ecosystem, helping to build a network of nearly 20,000 publishers by the time the company was acquired.

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