Kidson Talks | The E-commerce Chemist

I have been away for a while. I have been super busy with making sure business are top of their class when it comes to e-commerce….helping them branching out into mobile and social commerce. (as well as develop the basics like eBay/Website)

Social and mobile have changed how I shop. I am normally one of the first on the shopping cart bandwagon as I shop ALL THE TIME and it is one of my favourite pastimes.

Mobile Commerce and the wrath of the eBay iphone app

This revelation has killed my bank balance, eBay has infected my life even more than before – in bed, on the train and even waiting for food as a restaurant the iphone sneaks its way out and I can check eBay. It has some needs, like being able to search a sellers items or more ‘ebay shop’ functionality but it does relieve me of quite a few pounds. I also only shop on amazon via mobile now.

However, if there is no app I am probably not going to buy from you on my mobile. Even the ‘mobile friendly’ versions of e-stores annoy me (but normally I don’t check because they are not the norm yet) and I quite often, switch back to the full site if I can. These smartphone friendly versions have a long way to go before they reach ‘app’ status.

Evils of social commerce

You have to have a facebook page now, if you don’t I forget you exist. Sorry.

Recently we (as in createyourtemplate – disclaimer, I’m pluggin’) designed a facebook page for one of our eBay clients passion4italianfashion and instigated an idea of a weekly competition which involved tagging to get maximum exposure. The account started with around 41 likes and has now grown to over 850 likes with around 80 entries to their competition each week. This page will continue to grow and create brand awareness, keep them in-touch with their customers and grow sales.

Another interesting facebook marketing campaign was spearheaded by a friends company. I love Illamasqua makeup and they did a ‘social sacrifice‘ campaign which in effect you killed all your pictures and you had a set of professional pictures to replace them with Illamasqua makeup-y goodness. As a subscriber to their facebook page I get to know when they are doing promotions as it is an expensive brand so I wait for deals

So, as for shopping habits I have fallen right into mobile and social commerce like a stone. However, quite a few of the people (small/medium businesses) I speak too still don’t think it is anything to worry about or use to their advantage. The managing directors who use sites like Facebook, Groupon or have a smart phone always see differently. They see how they and their families spend money and want a slice of it!

So, get a website, make it social and make it mobile (with an app if you can). Don’t forget the power of social marketing if your demographic fits.

On a side note, I am volunteering in Japan (Ishinomaki) next month and staying with a friend who connects the international kimono community through her facebook page. She has kept us all updated about the real situation and stories from the first shake to her last trip.

Say?nara! Ganbatte!