F-COMMERCE

Is F-Commerce Becoming An Indispensable Part of Electronic Commerce

A Presentation By:

Nasir R. Zaidi Furqan-ul-Haq Noor-us-Sabah Faiz Shamsi

ABSTRACT

This case focuses on the pertinence of using F-Commerce as one of the primary mediums of conducting Electronic Commerce. The research is also enriched with answers to many questions that people may have in mind today such as Is F-Commerce becoming an indispensable part of modern ecommerce and do companies using F-Commerce as a platform to sell products enjoy better market position and so on.

ABSTRACT
Our case-study has been substantiated with the results that we obtained from our primary research through questionnaires and the information which we got through articles on web.

As more and more people tend to spend their business and leisure hours on internet the electronic market has become one of the prime sources of conducting real business which has inbuilt (and concealed) performance-measuring mechanisms that aid companies in identifying their strong and weak areas.

KEY-WORDS
-

Facebook Commerce
Commerce & Facebook SNW Commerce F-Commerce

BACKGROUND
Facebook started as a social networking website for college students and has opened up for public registration in 2006. The website offers basic social networking services such as ways to add other members as your friends. In addition, the website allows user to join networks and groups that share the same interest and views. Users can also share unlimited photos with their friends. Facebook also facilitates communications by allowing users to send messages to each other and post messages on each others profiles. Friends can also post events and invite guests on Facebook. It also provide a bulletin board for users to sell and buy products from each other.

DEFINITION
The term F-Commerce has been derived as a sub-theory from e-commerce. It is basically the use of Facebook as a platform for facilitation of business, sales, promotion or marketing either directly or indirectly. F-Commerce is a kind of social commerce where we use social media or networking mediums which support interaction among users (with a registered identity). Some leading brands involved in F-Commerce include; - Disney f-store (buy tickets) Fans: 29+ Million Fans - Nike f-store (tag & win competition) Fans: 55+ Million Fans - P&G f-store (showcasing new products free) Fans: 2.6+ Million Fans

PROBLEM STATEMENT
Is F-Commerce becoming an indispensable part of modern e-commerce?

OBJECTIVE
To analyze whether companies using F-Commerce enjoy better market position To interpret whether F-Commerce is an indispensable part of e-commerce To know whether people at large have any idea about F-Commerce or not

LITERATURE REVIEW - PAPER 1

Approximately 500 million of worlds population is actively using FB to stay connected with their friends, families and people around them. FB is the great equalizer because now it is available in so many different languages, no matter who you are, where you are in the world you can use FB to share your messages.
Social media may not have driven sales in an obvious way so far, but the next logical step be transactional social media. When you can buy products through Facebook rather than just liking them, we'll start to see a shift in the role of social media in the business and it will happen"

WRITER: JACKIE COHHAN, OCTOBER 25, 2011 TITLE: Three ways to move products on Facebook http://www.allfacebook.com/facebook-commerce-3-2011-10

LITERATURE REVIEW - PAPER 2

F-Commerce is a shopping platform for visitors that live on your FB page. A person will upload all details of his product along with the prices and all the other related information, open a whole new month channel of opportunity from his online sales. FB also have a feature where a person can run his adds making it easier to let the new customers know about his products and brand rather than waiting for his customers to come to his ecommerce store. Anyone who still believes in 2011 that Facebook isnt going directly drive a massive commerce opportunity for merchants and retailers alike on that platform will find themselves this time next year in 2011 wishing for their own Christmas miracle.

WRITER: ALLISON BRANDE, OCTOBER 15, 2011 TITLE: F-COMMERCE The Real Insights http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2011/10/25/payvment-social-commerce-for-larger-businesses.aspx

LITERATURE REVIEW - PAPER 3

F-COMMERCE posses a feature where a person can run his adds making it easier to let the new customers know about his products and brand rather than waiting for his customers to come to his e-commerce store.

In three to five years, 10 percent to 15 percent of total consumer spending in developed countries may go through sites such as Facebook

WRITER: ALLISON BRANDE, OCTOBER 15, 2011 TITLE: F-COMMERCE The Real Insights http://www.websitemagazine.com/content/blogs/posts/archive/2011/10/25/payvment-social-commerce-for-larger-businesses.aspx

LITERATURE REVIEW - PAPER 4

Online service providers, such as Facebook and Amazon, are beginning to collect various kinds of public and private data across the Web for the purposes of targeted marketing. A vast variety of data is collected about the user, and the current legal system has different legal standards for different kinds of data. This is problematic because the privacy policies against government and third-party intrusions are complex and confusing to the end user. There are a lot of business marketing incentives to combine the data stored by these online services. Platforms have been introduced by these companies to better combine e-commerce and social networking.

WRITER: KULIZA, NOVEMBER 18, 2007 TITLE: Online Social Networks and E-Commerce http://groups.csail.mit.edu/mac/classes/6.805/student-papers/fall07-papers/social-networks.pdf

LITERATURE REVIEW - PAPER 5

F-commerce is increasingly generating buzz in the social media and social technology market. Growing upon the peoples social graph, Facebook is suddenly emerging not only as a place to connect and share interesting stuff with people but also as a tool for commerce for brands and customers. The worlds biggest brands are selling on Facebook today. In fact, the top 3 brands on Facebook Coca Cola, Starbucks and Disney - sell directly on Facebook. E-commerce leaders are predicting that within the next 5 years more sales will be happening on Facebook than on Amazon.
The worlds biggest brands are selling on Facebook today. In fact, the top 3 brands on Facebook Coca Cola, Starbucks and Disney - sell directly on Facebook. E-commerce leaders are predicting that within the next 5 years more sales will be happening on Facebook than on Amazon

WRITER: KULIZA, MAY 06, 2009 TITLE: Growing Trend in Social Media http://socialmediatoday.com/achintya-gupta/306251/seven-f-commerce-strategies-brands

LITERATURE REVIEW - PAPER 6

Facebook commerce operates on two levels. First, it appeals to your core audience, those who already like you or visit your site. If such a program is successful, then your existing customers will spread the word about their favorite products and recent purchases to their friends on Facebook, generating awareness and possible referrals from their friends who may not be your customers already. Facebook commerce is especially well suited to event commerce ? making products available for limited times or in limited quantities can be Facebook commerce, since customers will want to tell their friends ? once theyve snapped up the deal themselves.

It appeals to your core audience, those who already like you or visit your site. If such a program is successful, then your existing customers will spread the word about their favorite products and recent purchases to their friends on Facebook

WRITER: NICHOLAS CARLSON, MAY 06, 2009 TITLE: Facebook Commerce Trend Report http://www.trendbird.biz/5541

LITERATURE REVIEW - PAPER 7

Amazon.com started as an online bookstore, but soon diversified, selling DVDs, CDs, MP3 downloads, computer software, video games, electronics, apparel, furniture, food, and toys. Amazon has established separate websites in Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Japan, and China. It also provides international shipping to certain countries for some of its products. Read more:

E-commerce leaders are predicting that within the next 5 years more sales will be happening on Facebook than on Amazon.

WRITER: JEFF BEZOS SEPTEMBER 14, 2011 TITLE: Main Page Website http://www.businessinsider.com/blackboard/amazon

LITERATURE REVIEW - PAPER 8

Payvment is the leading social commerce provider on Facebook that provides brands including Vivienne Westwood; Gibson Guitars; Molly Sims jewelry line, Grayce, and Lakers Nation with an application they can use so they can sell right on the site. In an interview a week after the forum, Musante clarified that when she speaks of social commerce she is specifically talking about social media, not putting a Facebook button on a branded dot-com.

F-commerce, is a two-way conversation. Here, people try to take their dot-com and turn it into Facebook. And try to relate FB with products they like!

WRITER: RACHERL SCHRUGATZ, OCTOBER 19, 2011 TITLE: Talking F-Commerce http://www.wwd.com/business-news/technology/talking-f-commerce-with-payvment-5309558

LITERATURE REVIEW - PAPER 9

Facebook is set to allow developers to create shopping apps directly on merchants fan pages. This means that fan pages, which were once mainly marketing channels, can now be used as a point of sale, if merchants are willing to pay a developer to implement the apps. Facebook commerce is especially well suited to event commerce ? making products available for limited times or in limited quantities can be Facebook commerce, since customers will want to tell their friends ? once theyve snapped up the deal themselves The first step in the transition from viewing social media as a networking site was the trading of virtual goods via Facebook

WRITER: BRENDAN GIBBONS, APRIL 15, 2010 TITLE: Social Media: Selling on Facebook http://www.practicalecommerce.com/articles/1823-Social-Media-Selling-on-Facebook-

LITERATURE REVIEW - PAPER 10

Dont put all your products up, unless you have the time to update the listings frequently. Prioritize your best sellers and any exclusives you offer. Selling on Facebook isnt about replacing or porting inventory from your ecommerce site. The viral nature of Facebook means you have the ability to give Facebook fans an exclusive discount for promoting and sharing their interest in your brand. Interact with your fan base and create two-way conversations about your specific products. Dont just talk about your brand, but discuss what you have for sale

WRITER: JACKIE COHHAN, OCTOBER 25, 2011 TITLE: Three ways to move products on Facebook http://www.allfacebook.com/facebook-commerce-3-2011-10

SUMMARY OF ALL PAPERS

- Social media may not have driven sales in an obvious way so far, but the next logical step be transactional social media. When you can buy products through Facebook rather than just liking them, we'll start to see a shift in the role of social media in the business and it will happen. - Anyone who still believes in 2011 that Facebook isnt going directly drive a massive commerce opportunity for merchants and retailers alike on that platform will find themselves this time next year in 2011 wishing for their own Christmas miracle. - The worlds biggest brands are selling on Facebook today. In fact, the top 3 brands on Facebook Coca Cola, Starbucks and Disney - sell directly on Facebook. E-commerce leaders are predicting that within the next 5 years more sales will be happening on Facebook than on Amazon.

- It appeals to your core audience, those who already like you or visit your site. If such a program is successful, then your existing customers will spread the word about their favorite products and recent purchases to their friends on Facebook

F-COMMERCE OPEN GRAPH

Facebook Open Graph Protocol
The Open Graph Protocol is a solution for external websites to link into Facebook and turn individual web pages into Facebook objects that get integrated into a Facebook user's social graph (their personal map of connections with people, photos, events, and pages). Example: when someone 'Likes' a movie page on the FB, that Like is added to the users social graph and gets posted to their Wall. The advantage of using the Open Graph Protocol for businesses is that it allows them to improve customer experience with Facebook features and generate referral via site-related status updates posted to users Walls

F-COMMERCE OPTIONS
Faux Stores (Storefront Only): Faux stores are Facebook product catalogues linked to product pages on an external dot com e-commerce site. Example: Bulgari runs a faux-store on it's Facebook page linked to its e-commerce site. Advantages include ease of set up, no back-end integration, whilst nevertheless broadening the digital footprint of an online store. Full Stores : Full stores provides full dot com e-commerce experience optimized for Facebook. The full product catalogue, shopping cart and the checkout process are all handled within Facebook. Example: ASOS, Jcpenney and Delta Airlines are full stores in Facebook. Fan Stores : Similar to full stores, but offer limited range of fan-first or fan-only exclusives to Facebook fans, fan-store are typically used to support an event, launch or campaign with a view to stimulating loyalty or advocacy. Example, Heinz allowed ketchup fans to buy a new line before it was available on stores through FB platform. Buy With Friends: Allows people to buy directly from their newsfeed (with Facebook Credits) deals purchased and shared by their friends. Trialed for purchases of digital/virtual goods for Facebook games.

HYPOTHESIS TESTING
In order to arrive at decisive juncture, we conducted hypothetical testing in two ways discussed below;

HO= F-Commerce is not an indispensable/essential part of modern e-commerce. HA= F-Commerce is an indispensable/essential part of modern e-commerce.

HYPOTHESIS TESTING
Test method For test method we have applied thumb rule method. A=(9=20=52=18=40=15=1=5/8) = 20 least B=(15=9=5/3) = 9.6 normal C=(13=45=10/3) = 28.3 above normal D=(91=80=48=30=60=40=45=80/8) = 59.25

maximum

Now (20 = 9.6 = 28.3 = 59.25/4) = 29.28 Hence, 100 29.28 = 70.7. Now, it can be confidently stated that F-Commerce is becoming an indispensable part of modern e-commerce.

QUESTIONNAIRES
HAVE FB ACCOUNT?
Yes No 91 09

9%

YES NO 91%

QUESTIONNAIRES
AGE GROUP
a. 18 to 20 b. 21 to 24 c. 25 to 28 d. 28 or more Nill 10 40 50
0% 10% 18 to 20 40% 21 to 24 25 to 28 28 or more

50%

QUESTIONNAIRES
PERCEPTION BEHIND NOT HAVING FB ACCOUNT?

I don't think it's necessary it's wastage of time I am planning to create one OPTION I don't think it's necessary soon

3 4
FREQUENCY

2
it's wastage of time

it's wastage of time I don't think it's necessary I am planning to create one soon

3 4 I am planning to create one soon 2

22%

33%

45%

QUESTIONNAIRES
PERIOD SPENT
6 TO 12 MONTH 13 TO 24 MONTHS 25 TO 36 MONTHS DONT REMEMBER NULL NULL 60
33% 0% 0% 0% OPTION 6 TO 12 MONTH 67% 13 TO 24 MONTHS 25 TO 36 MONTHS DONT REMEMBER

30

QUESTIONNAIRES
PURPOSE BEHIND USING FB?
to find new friends to search for new products and services to socialize to make my presence feel 15 30 40
44.4%

0%
16.6% 16.6%

OPTION to find new friends 33.3% to search for new products and services to socialize to make my presence feel

15

QUESTIONNAIRES
OPINION WHETHER FB CAN CONDUCT E-COMMERCE OR NOT
YES NO MAY BE IT WILL I AM 100% SURE 45 1 9 45
45% 45% YES NO MAY BE 9%

IT WILL I AM 100% SURE

1%

QUESTIONNAIRES
F-COMMERCE TERMINOLOGY?
YES NO 80 20
0%
20%

OPTION YES 80% NO

QUESTIONNAIRES
MEANING OF F-COMMERCE?
SOCIAL COMMERCE FUN COMMERCE FACEBOOK COMMERCE FAST COMMERCE 10 5 80 5

MEANING OF F-COMMERCE
5% 10% 5% SOCIAL COMMERCE FUN COMMERCE 80% FACEBOOK COMMERCE FAST COMMERCE

QUESTIONNAIRES
INFORMATION ABOUT ANY LINK?
YES NO 48 52

0%

48% 52% OPTION YES NO

QUESTIONNAIRES
REASON BEHIND NO?
Its annoying to get update from Companies. 35
0% 33% OPTION

I never knew I can LIKE a page and 17 Remain connected

67%

IT'S ANNOYING TO GET UPDATES FROM COMPANIES I NEVER KNEW I CAN LIKE A PAGE AND REMAIN CONNECTED

QUESTIONNAIRES
MADE ANY TRANSACTIONS?
YES NO 30 18
38% OPTION

0%

62%

YES NO

QUESTIONNAIRES
WILL YOU MAKE TRANSACTION IN FUTURE OR NOT?
Yes No 60 40

TRANSECTION WILL BE MADE IN FUTURE OR NOT

0% 40% OPTION

60%

YES NO

CONCLUSION
After going through the research paper and the substantiation of facts thereon, it can be stated that F-Commerce is becoming an indispensable part of modern electronic commerce and with the passage of time, more companies are developing their F-Commerce Stores are the results are satisfactory, too. It has also been observed that many of the prominent international corporations such as Pampers, Dove, Bulgari, Barneys, Disney, Dell, Pavment.Com, Levis, Starbucks, Coke, Nike, P & G etc. have already made their entry into the world of F-Commerce and possess high fan following. Furthermore, it has been substantiated with facts that marketers all over the globe always look for ways to understand consumers in the most befitting manner and act according to their desires/wants. In pursuance of same objective, they need to gather more information about consumers and update it from time to time so as to maintain its relevance - and FCommerce has made these tasks easier - and cheap as well. It can be concluded that in this contemporary digital age, businesses must ensure their presence on social networking websites and conduct F-Commerce as it has become the demand of people using internet throughout the world.

SCOPE
It has been established through our research that social networking websites (SNWs) such as Facebook are built around people - not websites or pages - and people belonging to any walk of life are influenced by eminent persons who exist in their social circles. The element of influence in social networks flow consistently through different types of bonds such as friendship, kinship, common interests, financial exchange or beliefs, knowledge - likely, the scope of F-Commerce is encompassed through multifarious factors that exist within humans. Our research suggests that Facebook has become an open platform for individuals/companies desirous of promoting their businesses via multiple channels. It has also been established that individuals and companies using Facebook as a platform to conduct e-commerce are able to build better rapports with customers - and prospects - and also gaining better opportunities of higher sales + expansion. Hence, it can be stated that F-Commerce will gain more popularity in the times to come and consequently, there will be a point-of-time when every firm will have to remain connected with its customers/prospects through social networking websites to expand functionality.

REFERENCES
Diner, J. (2011) F-Commerce, the Arrival of the Facebook Consumer *online+ available from http://clickz.com [November 28 2011] Ente, J. (2011) The beginners guide to Facebook Commerce *online+ available from http://masahable.com/2011/07/14/facebook-commerce-guide.com [December 01 2011] Glassman, N. (2011) 5 Reasons the Time for F-Commerce is Now *online+ available from http://socialtimes.com/fcommerce-now_b65147 [27 November 2011] Gupta, A. (2011) Seven F-Commerce Strategies for Brands *online+ available from http://socialmediatoday.com/achintya-gupta [27 November 2011] Kessler, S. (2011) Turn Your Ecommerce Site into a Facebook Store with Wishpond *online+ available from http://mashable.com/2011/06/28/wishpond-facebook-commerce [December 02 2011] Lee, C. and Fung, S. (2007) Online Social Networks and E-Commerce. Greenwich publishing: U.S.A Marsden, P. (2011) f-commerce FAQ F-Commerce helps in execution of sales transactions [online] available online from http://socialcommercetoday.com [November 16 2011] Webtrends (2011) The Effect of Social Networks and the Mobile Web on Website Traffic and the Inevitable Rise of Facebook Commerce Webtrends. Webtrend publishing: Orlando.