One of my recent obsessions is social commerce, the idea of shared shopping experiences online. On a global basis, Facebook has been leading the charge with socialising commerce in stores (check-ins at retailers) and online (using Facebook connect to link people in their activities across various sites.)
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One of the most interesting permutations, however, is when the commercial experience takes place entirely within a social network. There are a few companies specialising in this domain, a selection of which we have pulled together for this draft benchmarking.
Here they are:
Merchants partner with 8thBridge to create social shopping experiences for their customers inside Facebook and on its eCommerce sites. Customers are empowered to shop with merchants on their own terms in a shopping experience that is portable, personalised, and participatory.
North Social has been building innovative and impactful social media applications, promotions, and marketing campaigns for some of the most forward thinking brands on the planet since 2006.
Leading brands and retailers leverage ShopIgniter to promote new product announcements with exclusive offers.
Payvment is a Facebook storefront for ecommerce merchants. The Payvment app lets you import your ecommerce products directly to your Facebook Fan Page, which means that users can shop and complete the transaction right there on the site.
Zibaba, a preferred Facebook development company enabling retailers and affiliates to easily set up Facebook storefronts directly on their fan pages, is a complete eCommerce solution.
Based in New York, Italy, and the UK, Usablenet is a global leader in extending companies’ online brands to their customers, wherever they are: on mobile, on Facebook, at an in-store kiosk, on a tablet, and more
Moontoast helps musicians, artists, authors, athletes, and other affinity-based brands monetize their social networks in a way that builds fan loyalty, leads to incremental revenue opportunities, and increases per-sale profits.
Milyoni has created the leading f-commerce solution in the market with over 50 brands representing over 60 million fans. Milyoni’s f-commerce solution Conversational Commerce provides an online social shopping experience that operates completely within Facebook and an innovative suite of social merchandising tools to engage fans in conversations with implicit or explicit product promotions.