The Evolution of Social Commerce - Essay Example

The network of social commerce grew tremendously in 2007 and business models and strategies became more refined. 2008 was the year when the theoretical forecasts about social commerce started to be integrated into real business practices across a variety of industries. New technical platforms for social commerce were introduced in 2009 and more understanding consumers became a primary goal for the businesses. It was also the year when social networking expanded beyond Facebook as well as in a greater variety of gadgets that paved way for the evolution of social commerce as a global phenomenon in 2010.

The link between online businesses and social networking websites strengthened in 2011, and social networking websites became the overarching IT platform for major business practices. The four dimensions of people, management, information, and technology reflect interdependencies and equilibrium. Social commerce is focused on social networking, with social shopping being the subset of social commerce whereas E-commerce is oriented toward efficiency. Social commerce has become an established practice that will evolve further in the coming years.

Social commerce has tremendous opportunities for analyzing and improving business practices.