Blogshops still evolving, still relevant

From: http://www.zdnet.com/blogshop-businesses-evolving-still-relevant-2062302265/

Blogshop businesses evolving, still relevant

Summary: Originally hosted on free blog sites, blogshops now becoming regular online stores while retaining more personal customer relationships and here to stay, experts say.

By Ellyne Phneah | September 28, 2011 -- 06:33 GMT (14:33 SGT)

The business model of blogshops is changing to resemble that of online stores and a sustainable one to go by, according to industry experts, who note these businesses exude greater professionalism yet maintain their niche in developing intimate customer relationships. Consumers, however, remain mixed toward online shopping.

As the blogshop industry matures, blogshops are also becoming more professional with a shift to dot-com Web sites, Leonard Tan, CEO of PurpleClick Media told ZDNet Asia in an e-mail. They now also offer standardized payment modes and clearly state terms and conditions.

Elaborating, Freda Kwok, senior consultant of BluGrapes, noted that many blogshops are migrating from free hosted Web log sites to a "full dot-com Web site" as a result of a large customer base and a growing volume of transactions, which require a more sophisticated navigational portal and greater backend support in terms of order processing, inventory and logistics.

In addition, these e-tailers are also hiring "relatively high-profile models" who are well-known in the "blogosphere" and moving away from bulk purchasing from suppliers to in-house design and manufacturing in order to carry their own brand and labels, she said in her e-mail.

"Although [high-profile] models are pricier and more costly to feature, they lend a hand toward sealing the status of the blogshop as a coveted brand," Kwok pointed out.

"There was a period where customers grew weary of seeing similar designs across the various blogshops. By having their own designs, blogshops [can] seal their particular fashion style attracting like-minded repeat and loyal customers."

Love & Bravery, for one, does not consider itself a blogshop because it no longer operates from a blog.

"We buy and pay a significant cost for server space to set ourselves apart from fly-by-night blogshops," owner Eunyce Yap told ZDNet Asia in an e-mail. "Our site is kept simple [in terms of] layout and we are careful not to clutter it with promotions that are so common on other sites."

Blog structure limiting 
When quizzed on the definition of blogshops, Kwok explained that they used to be online shopping sites that operated out of free blog services such as Blogspot and LiveJournal. These storefronts started in 2007 and "hit [their] high point" between 2009 and 2010. As they lack a "shopping cart" system, they utilized the comment capabilities of blog services for orders.

Tan added that these blogshops had low barriers to entry with "hassle-free setup" and minimum development costs. They were also associated with flexible payment options not restricted to online payment systems, and higher business risk with less security for buyers and sellers. Issues such as hacking incidents or business cheats could arise, he noted.

Their views echo the business values of blogshop Her Velvet Vase, which owners say it has evolved to adopt features of both a regular online store and a blogshop. "We have the efficiencies of a fully comprehensive online catalogue and online shopping cart system, yet retain the personable service of a blogshop," Clare Chan and Magdalene Chan, co-owners of the store, told ZDNet Asia in an e-mail. "Our customers are able to enjoy the best of both worlds."

The sisters added that the concept of blogshops is still young but has already evolved into a competitive industry and they would be "left hanging high and dry" if they were slow to adapt or innovate, or do not have appropriate products and marketing.

Creativity, tools needed to sustain online buying 
With the growing ease of online shopping with consumers more accepting of online transactions, blogshops are here to stay, Kwok of Blugrapes said. Overseas online sites such as ASOS, Go Janeand Forever 21 are already popular with the Internet-savvy crowd and similarly blogshops can appeal with uniquely manugfactured items, she added.

Blogshops also have an "enhanced social aspect" whereby many of them operate alongside social media platforms such as Facebook pages, Twitter accounts and even personal blogs by the owner, Kwok noted. These multiple touch points allow users to know and engage with the brandon a "more intimate" level, and hence develop a stronger sense of loyalty, she added.

Looking at consumer preferences, it also "seems" that having multiple cheaper options appeals more compared to having a few high street or branded articles, she said. "It's this regard for choice, coupled with the affordability of [blogshop items] with impressive quality at times, that will make this a sustainable business."

However, Kwok stressed that only a few existing blogshops are thriving today.

Tan added: "Sustainability would depend on how innovative and smart blogshop owners are to further fine-tune their e-store in its buying process and landing pages. "More importantly, [they need] an in-depth understanding of driving targeted traffic to their sites using analytics and optimization tools to analyze visitor behavior and enhance conversions."

Tan advised that online channels and tools should be completely understood and utilized to complement each other, from online pull advertising, online push advertising, search engine optimization (SEO) and e-mail advertising to social media.

Consumers ZDNet Asia spoke to, expressed mixed reactions on whether they enjoyed their shopping experience with blogshops, despite the evolution of the blogshop business model.

Entrepreneur Lee May Ling noted that she still experienced purchases that looked different from what had been presented on the Web site and "what [she] saw was not what she had".

Lim Pei Qian, an account manager concurred, noting that the clothes often do not fit well on her petite frame, given that the models used by blogshops are tall.

Others had beef with the quality, range and purchasing process. Model Shn Juay, for one, commented that the fabric used for apparel she buys off blogshops is "lousy".

Tiffany Low, a graduate from Singapore's Nanyang Technological University, described herself as a consumer who is "always looking for new and adventurous styles to try". She said it was disappointing that blogshops generally offered "safer choices [which] appealed [only] to the mass market" and hence "lack creativity and exclusivity".

Regular shopper Lim May-Ann added that there was "no regulated manner" when it came to placing orders even with those who had shopping cart systems. "Consumers still often pay through Internet banking before the item will be sent out," she said. "[They are] absorbing all the risk and must pay extra for registered mail if they want the item [to be] 'accounted' for."

On the other hand, media producer Melissa Yuen revealed that she enjoys shopping with blogshops because she could avoid "battling the crowds in malls" and she "can shop anytime, anywhere".

Research officer Joy Lim added that some blogshops have talented individuals who design their own clothes and shoes, and therefore have an edge over physical shop brands, which tend to mass produce. "If more capable designers start online stores with apparel far more attractive than the mainstream ones, more [of us] will definitely choose to go to blogshops more," she said.

Topics: Software, Browser, CIO, Social Enterprise, IT Employment

Blogshops in Australia driven by students

From: http://fashiononezerooneone.wordpress.com/2010/05/14/235/

Students starting up blog-shops as an online business by Poh, Ng.
written on May 12, 2010 at 8:53 am

More and more students in Australia are becoming young entrepreneurs as they turn their passion in fashion into a business through blog-shops.

When Su was first introduced to the virtual world of shopping, she did not know that her involvement in the trade would be more than that of a shopper.

These days, the Architecture student from University of Adelaide owns an online blog-shop that caters for women clothing.

According to Su, “It started out when my friends and I decided to make some bulk purchases from an online site because they were so cheap! The only problem was, when the stocks arrived, some of the sizes of those clothes were unsuitable for us. A friend suggested that we could try and sell them online and surprisingly, we sold out most of those clothes and there were several requests for more stocks.”

“I guess… what started out as passion in shopping turned out to be a part-time job and business for us.”

Su is only one of the many university students in Australia who owns a blog-shop.

One of the pioneers of the “blog-shop” culture in Australia are Chelle and Sher, two fashion students from Melbourne and the owners of the Muff+Stit blog site.

According to Cher and Sher, Muff+Stit is not only a business platform for making money but it allows them to express themselves and play around with what they truly enjoy- fashion.

Felicia Lee, an Arts student from Monash University and a previous owner of blog-shop agrees and said, “Even though it’s a lot of hard work to run an online blog-shop, it’s a really enjoyable experience because I’m doing something that I love – shopping and fashion!”

According to Mellissa Lee, a fashion journalist from Tongue in Chic fashion site, “Online blog shops are definitely a great platform for those who have plans to start their own boutiques in the future.”

“A blog-shop exposes young student entrepreneurs to the market and helps them to understand various aspects of the business.”

Most blog-shop owners described this business as a low-risk, small-capital business that anyone can start from the comfort of their own home.

However, according to Su, “It’s a business that’s easy to establish but difficult to maintain due to the competition as well as the absence of a monitoring body.”

“Even when exams are near, we still have to update our website because our customers are always expecting new arrivals.”

“In the beginning, sourcing for credible suppliers via the Internet was also a long process that involved filtering out unscrupulous traders”, she adds.

According to Lee, most of these blog-sites are usually owned by students who are avid shoppers themselves.

“I don’t think they’re in it for the money but more so that they can share their interest and passion in fashion.”

In a recent survey conducted in Monash University, more than 60% from a sample of 35 female students are aware of the existence of blog-shops while more than 40% of them admitted that they have previously made purchases via blog-shops in Australia.

According to Kinky from RMIT, “The prices of clothes sold in blog-shops are cheaper and they look equally good as the ones sold in retail shops.”

Su also said that some of the clothes she purchased from her overseas suppliers are the same designs as those sold in shops like Sportsgal and Forever New.

“I can’t tell you the exact cost of our stocks but we usually make a profit of 40% after deducting the cost price of our clothes. I can afford to sell my clothes cheaper than retail shops because online blog-shops do not require much capital expenditure” said Su.

According to Lee, “The Internet has become a convenient tool for these students to support their business initiatives while pursuing their interests as fashion enthusiasts. I believe that blog-shops will slowly become a popular shopping alternative for young people in Australia”

Written by Poh, Ng.

Links to some of these blog-shops: Button&Thread, Project Muff+Stit, Leflaterry, LeBlackbook, TwincatVintage,ThreePointSix

40% of the female students surveyed in Monash University admitted that they have previously made purchases via blog-shops in Australia

View Larger Map

Survey was conducted at Monash University, Clayton, Australia.

Sound clip 43 by addpohsim

This interview with Su, a student blog-shop owner from Adelaide was conducted from our own homes. It’s unedited and a raw media element. Su is the real name of the interviewee, however, it’s only one of her given names.

A slide show of some of the photos of blog-shoppers I took from last week. Photos of clothes are credited to Button and Thread, a student owned blog-shop in Sydney.

A video of a random interview with some local students in Melbourne regarding the fashion industry in Australia. The point of this video is to prove that students are turning to alternative methods of shopping. It also proves that students are well-aware that retail shops price some clothing too expensively.

A video interview with Felicia Lee: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_S-l177y88

F-Commerce a hit for small retailers

From: http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/money/business/story/2012/09/24/facebook-commerce-a-hit-for-small-retailers/57838070/1

Facebook commerce a hit for small retailers

by Oliver St. John, USA TODAY

Updated 9/24/2012 8:07 PM

Facebook is becoming prime real estate for small retailers rather than the mega-mall that the big chains had hoped it would be.

Second-quarter profits from Facebook stores were up 38% from the first quarter for the 180,000 small to midsize retailers, and have been going strong ever since, says e-commerce company Ecwid. Based on Facebook's monthly active users stats, Ecwid makes the most widely used Facebook store-building software to work across social-media platforms and websites.

STORY: Facebook stock plunges 9.1% as doubts rise again

Businesses that sell on Facebook using Ecwid's app as well as on their own websites make 22% of their sales on Facebook, says Ecwid. Social-commerce gurus say small retailers have the edge over big names, because they behave more like friends on Facebook.

"This is where small business can really hit it out of the park," says Paul Chaney, author of The F-Commerce Handbook. "I connect with the guy or lady who runs the business, and that's the person who's posting."

Facebook commerce can be great for businesses such as the Apricot Lane franchise Jena Green runs with her mother, Renee Dixon, in Peoria, Ill. The boutique makes up to half of its overall sales of women's clothing, shoes and accessories on Facebook, says Green. She engages the more than 19,000 customers who have "Liked" her store by posting pictures of new arrivals, promotions and answers to customer inquiries throughout the day.

She says customers favor Facebook shopping because they're already checking the page for pictures of the new items anyway. If they see something they want, "It's just easier for them to click 'shop,'" Green says.

Many large retailers have not been able to break into Facebook commerce like Green and Dixon did. Nordstrom offered a few items for sale on its Facebook page for a limited time as part of a test last year, but "the customer didn't seem to respond," says spokesman Colin Johnson. J.C. Penney, GameStop, Banana Republic, The Gap and Old Navy all closed their Facebook storefronts, Bloomberg reported. But J.C. Penney hasn't given up on Facebook. "Our first attempt may not have been the right approach, but we're continuing to explore new ways to turn our 2.7 million followers into repeat customers," says J.C. Penney spokeswoman Daphne Avila.

Just don't put all your eggs in one online shopping basket, warns Skip Shean, CEO of 16wells, an online marketing consultant. Facebook is notorious for springing drastic changes on users unannounced. "It's a bad idea to rely on a platform you don't have any control over," he says. "You need a plan B."

Airline crew sells bags online

Interesting find about a blogshop selling stuff that is brought in by airline crew from overseas.

They also allow for installment payment.

From: http://brandbags4u.blogspot.com/

READ THIS -TERM & CONDITION

1) All items are 100% guarantee Authentic. I don’t like to use or support replica, fake and counterfeit items.

2) All items sold are Final. Non-refundable, Non-returnable.

3) You can choose COD or Post. For COD, I required 50rm deposit before meet up. This is to prevent buyer back out. Pls meet up at convenience places (any station on Star & Putra Lrt line, Bukit Jalil, Sri-petaling).

For Post, some items are Not included shipping! Pls check with me first.

4) I allow you to pay installment for price above RM800. Maximum period is only up to 2 month (up to our agreement via email or sms) which means you need to make full payment by this course. Deposit is Non-refundable.

5) Deposit 30-50% of the price for reservation & ALL Pre-Order items.

6) I will not be responsible if items lost and damage due to shipping.

All items here are guarantee 100% AUTHENTIC. Items are from overseas carried by air crews, or my friend who live in overseas that’s why you see price cheaper than local boutique.

To be fair for both of us, Please DO NOT transfer deposit before email order to me.

All items are 100% guarantee Original, Genuine, Authentic

Money back guarantee if found it’s not authentic.

Thank you & Happy Shopping!

Running a Blogshop

From: http://www.zdnet.com/tips-on-how-to-run-a-blogshop-7000005305/

Tips on how to run a blogshop

Summary: Singapore-based Momoteapots shares some pointers on how to handle the logistics and marketing behind a blogshop, and explains the benefits of resisting the change to a dot-com Web site.

By Ellyne Phneah | October 5, 2012 -- 10:34 GMT (18:34 SGT)

[CASE STUDY] Unlike many other blogshops who have migrated to a dot-com Web address, Singapore-based blogshop Momoteapots has resisted the move, based on cost calculations and customer feedback.
The blogshop's co-founder Serene Chow told ZDNet Asia in an interview that customers preferred using the LiveJournal site because of the more personalized customer service offered, such as chronological dialogue format that made it easy to browse.
It also allowed for more personal interaction, as compared to an automated invoicing system on big brand online shops such as Nasty Gal and ASOS, she added.
Chow explained there was also high costs in migrating to a dot-com Web site with proper online store features, which can typically go up to S$20,000 (US$14,660).
Co-owned with a good friend from school, Matthew Ang, Momoteapots today has approximately 1,000 transactions a month and launches new collections every two weeks. It had started out in 2007, when Chow, a university student, used it as an online platform to rid her wardrobe of old clothes and earn extra allowance.
With the blogshop scene being very saturated at the moment, we are often challenged to think out of the box to keep improving ourselves and keep ahead of competition," she said.
ZDNet Asia spoke to Chow to find out more about what it takes to run a blogshop.

Source: Momoteapots

Q: How do you source for your clothes?
Chow: We get our supplies of female apparel in Singapore and abroad. We make sourcing trips within Asia monthly to scour for clothes with the latest designs for our blogshop. We have also begun manufacturing our own designs, by working with middlemen and suppliers here.
At the moment, we work with a few trustworthy and reliable suppliers, since it is difficult to find a single supplier who is good at manufacturing every single apparel. For example, one supplier may be better at manufacturing blazers while another may have a niche in making dresses, so we will choose to work with both.
We meet our local suppliers weekly to order designs. Locally, off the rack stuff can take one day for delivery while our self-manufactured designs can take up to three or four months to arrive.
How do you market your products?  On average, one or two Momoteapots' manufactured designs arrive every week, along with readily available pieces from suppliers. With these pieces, we try to pick out which designs we want to showcase as part of a collection based on "what's hot".
We will then do a photoshoot mostly indoors, and occasionally we will have themed ones to inject some fun. I still model for the site, and the images are then edited by us--which helps save costs.
Preview pictures will be uploaded on the blog's social media page, and we will also announce the latest collection through our e-mailing list.
This is a good way to hype up the interest and buzz for a collection, as customers anticipate the upcoming designs. It also gives them some extra time to consider purchasing a particular piece. p>We will then prepare for the online launch by listing the measurements, writing out item descriptions, and doing up the inventory.
How is invoicing and payment done? Customers who are interested in buying a particular item will leave a comment on the post, noting the item of their choice and their e-mail address.
With this "invoice", a customer will then be given 24 hours to make their transfer via ATM fund transfer or Internet banking, and then inform us of the transaction details. If they do not or are uncontactable, we will "blacklist" the e-mail address, and give them lesser priority on their next order.
Invoicing on a blogging platform, as compared to a dot-com site can be troublesome and inefficient because you have to go through every single comment to create an invoice. The up side is they get a more personalized invoice from us as compared to a generic automated invoice from a dot-com side.
We consider a collection a success when at least 70 percent of the stocks are sold, which happens in almost all of our collections.
What other efforts do you make to get to know your customers? Knowing our customers is very important to us as it puts a face behind those we correspond with online. Similarly, when our customers get to know us, they may feel more comfortable buying from us in the future.
We hold private sale events once or twice a year only for customers who have signed up for our mailing list. At this event, the customers get first-hand previews of upcoming designs and priority access to our sale items.
With our online success, we have also opened a brick and mortar store.
The brick-and-mortar stores can give our online customers an additional outlet to shop with us, and reach out to a wider customer base. There are still customers who hesitate shopping online with us as they worry about quality and fit.
New or potential customers will now have more faith in our products when they have the opportunity to touch, feel or try our designs.

http://momoteapots.livejournal.com/ 

Asia Pacific fastest growing region in EC

From: http://blog.ignify.com/2011/02/28/world-wide-ecommerce-trends-asia-pacific-ranks-fastest-growing-region/

World-Wide eCommerce Trends: Asia Pacific Ranks Fastest Growing Region

February 28th, 2011

While the ecommerce market in the U.S. is now considered to be a mature segment of the retail industry, In Asia Pacific the expansion of this space remains in its early stages. eCommerce in USA still continues to outpace traditional brick and mortar retail. However in Asia Pacific the growth in eCommerce is staggering. However, unlike traditional beliefs that Asian consumers are averse to shopping online a report released in 2010 on Global Trends in Online Shopping revealed that only 13% of Internet users in Asia Pacific had never shopped online which was lower than the global average where 16% of users had never shopped online. This forecasts the ecommerce in Asia Pacific will continue to grow fast and only may become one of the largest markets world-wide. The report surveyed over 27,000 internet users in the world.

• The China Internet Network Information Center said the number of internet users in the world’s most populous country jumped 28.9% in 2009 to 384 million, which is more than the entire population of the U.S.
• According to this article on CNBC , “Sales done online nationwide in China have doubled to almost $80 billion in 2010, according to iResearch data, compared to total retail sales, which have grown nearly 20 percent per year in the last five years.”

While this spending burst could be a result of many things, experts say shoppers in Asia Pacific are fast-becoming comfortable with the ease of mobile e-commerce, compared to their Western counterparts. In addition to their web savvy ways, their economy is experiencing a consumption boom which should last for many years. Users in Asia Pacific are more likely to do a purchase using the mobile phone than users in North America.

Here are some key trends we’ve discovered by reviewing all the surveys including the Nielsen one referred to above and others from ComScore and Forrester Research:

• What they are buying: Outside of travel, Items that Asia Pacific shoppers like to buy online are books, clothing/accessories/shoes, cosmetics, videos/DVDs/games, and groceries in that order.
• Where within Asia Pacific are they buying: Total online spending as a percentage of total monthly spending varies by country with Chinese and Korean online consumers allocating the most via the web than any other in the region. Online consumers in New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia and Hong Kong allocate the least.
• Who is buying: The developed countries in Asia Pacific such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, and Japan follow the same online gender profiling as North America where women dominate men in the traffic to online stores. Less developed countries like India, Vietnam and Philippines have men more dominant in visits to online retail stores.

So with this information, how can you begin marketing to the Asia Pacific part of the world through your ecommerce site ? How can you get their attention and keep it? Here are some tips on what you can do to build out your Asia Pacific ecommerce store.

1. Offer diversity in your online product catalog: The #1 reason shoppers in Asia Pacific go online is when they cannot find products in the store or for diversity. This is very different than the North America buyer where price is often a very significant reason to shop online. So you don’t need to be the cheapest price in town if your store can bring significant diversity. The more products you can offer the higher your chances of success will be in this market. Those testing the market with a very narrow catalog may find that they are setting themselves for failure.
2. Stay simple: While a broad catalog is desired, the store should be simple, easy to navigate and not overly complex. Most online retailers in Asia Pacific make the mistake of throwing a lot of flash and a dizzying array of colors. A busy look and feel is the most common and the least successful. Go for the clean and simple look and feel with a powerful offering.
3. Reviews: Online product reviews are more important than in North America. The strong social connection in Asia pacific means that consumers will like to read and research a lot more before they buy. Reviews (both negative and positive) will help increase the conversion on your store. Don’t sanitize your reviews
4. Promotions: The least used and yet most successful promotion in Asia Pacific is Free shipping. While it is hard to make shipping cost-effective in the region – if you can make that your strength. How do you make shipping pay for itself – tie the free shopping offer to a minimum order size e.g. the equivalent of $50. That will drive up your order size and the difference will pay for the shipping. The free shipping in itself will increase conversion significantly. Shoppers in Asia Pacific are very sensitive to shipping cost.
5. Mobile: The web should be your #1 priority. However the mobile experience should be a close second. Users in Asia are much more comfortable with the cell phone than consumers in North America. Take advantage of this and put in place a mobile offering much sooner than when you’d do it in North America.

Email us at ecommerce@ignify.com for more tips.

Pankaj Kumar is the Chief Technology Officer at Ignify. Ignify eCommerce is the only PCI certified eCommerce solution in the market that is available in the Asia Pacific region. Ignify has been included as the fastest growing business in North America for four years in a row by Deloitte, Inc Magazine and Entrepreneur Magazine. Ignify was ranked in the Red Herring Global 100 in 2011 – this list represents the top businesses world-wide with disruptive and innovative technology.

F-Commerce: Boom or Bust?

 http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/F-Commerce-Business-Boom-or-Bust-76280.html

 F-Commerce: Business Boom or Bust?

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By Mark Venezia
E-Commerce Times
09/29/12 5:00 AM PT

Not every e-commerce company should try to use f-commerce, but consider whether yours should. Are most members of your target demographic active on Facebook? If you're simply looking for another environment to market your goods, critically consider whether it adds anything to sell through f-commerce. Does it change the user experience?

Discussions on Facebook's IPO and inability to market successfully have been a topic of discussion for months. Sure, Facebook has a reach of nearly a billion users, but until it can be successfully monetized, is investing in Facebook commerce a boom or a bust?

The real discussion is not about Facebook's IPO or current trading price, but rather whether Facebook is a good vehicle for marketing and, if it is, if businesses understand how to harness a vast pool of potential customers that normally takes years to accumulate.

What It Is

So, what is Facebook commerce, or f-commerce?
"F-commerce denotes the use of Facebook as a channel to monetize social media. It is one facet of a larger genre referred to as social commerce," wrote Paul Chaney, author of the Digital Handshake on Small Biz Survival.
Think of f-commerce as any sale that takes place on Facebook with the help of applications on Facebook business pages. To aid f-commerce, businesses may seek to take out Facebook ads posted on potential customers' pages as a way of driving traffic.
F-commerce is expected to become a US$30 billion industry by 2015, according to analysts at SocialMediaAdd,
So why are businesses hesitating?

Reasons for Holding Off on F-Commerce

Your target audience isn't there.
If your target audience consists of children under the age of 13 who are unable to influence their parents or siblings, stay away from f-commerce. Facebook is available only to those over 13 years of age.
You're a large business marketing many different products traditionally.
We've seen large businesses try and fail to profit from a move to f-commerce. Taking a traditional e-commerce approach, a business is destined to fail selling through Facebook.
Large businesses fail with f-commerce, notes Brian Solis, by using it as "yet another digital catalog for selling products and not as a platform for activating new experiences based on the nature and the psychology of the relationships that define the network."
The reason for the failures of Nordstrom, Gap, Gamestop and JC Penney can thus be related not to the failure of f-commerce, but to strategies for using it.
If online shopping is already convenient, attempting to use traditional marketing methods will be unsuccessful -- and being too quick to pull the plug may add to the failure.
You expect immediate results.
Starting with f-commerce takes time and resources. It requires investment in a Facebook API developer and requires outreach to current and new customers.
It will take a while to grow organically, but Facebook advertising can help it.

Reasons for Giving F-Commerce a Shot

Your demographic is on Facebook.
Let's be honest here. Facebook affords businesses the opportunity to specifically target age groups and geography in a way that traditional marketing can't.
Facebook ads allow you to target by demographic, location, interests, and within a budget that's a fraction of the cost of traditional marketing.
You make content easy to share.
No user wants to become confused with the buying or selling process on your platform. If you are a business that sells directly from your own shop, make it easy for users to share their recent purchases.
This can be as simple as offering a generic Facebook post mentioning your post or offering an incentive for posting. Social plug-ins allow for the Liking of products to be shareable across social networks.
Change your strategy. Sell something worthwhile.
F-commerce is changing the name of the game and selling should change appropriately. Whether you are a large or small business, selling desirable content through Facebook is advisable when you understand your target.
iTunes allows musicians such as Pink to sell MP3s directly through Facebook.
Companies like Spreadshirt and BravadoUSA allow political satire and celebrities to shop APIs for inclusion on Facebook pages.
Walmart allows users to search local stores for deals, meal ideas, and support.
Showtime's API for "Dexter" lets fans buy gear from the show.
Small businesses also thrive, such as Got What It Cakes and Legendary Whitetails, among others.

Tips for Success

Lose the lofty business expectations.
Your f-commerce business will take time to grow. Even if a Facebook giveaway increases Likes on your page, that won't necessarily translate into new sales.
Understand the culture.
Not every e-commerce company should try to use f-commerce, but consider whether yours should. Are most members of your target demographic active on Facebook?

Is F-Commerce Worthwhile?

If you're simply looking for another environment to market your goods, critically consider whether it adds anything to sell through f-commerce. Does it change the user experience?
Be open to change.
This should apply to any type of new marketing, but always be open to see what new opportunities are available. With 800 million active users on Facebook, it's a treasure trove for any business willing to take the risk and dive in.
Create an API that's shareable.
If applicable to your business, make it easy for customers to add your app to their Facebook page and sell merchandise.
Incentivize sharing.
Users are more likely to access your Facebook app if there is an incentive, especially if there is an incentive to share using a plugin.
Ask for feedback.
Ask your customers what's working and what isn't. Asking advice will go farther than you think.

The Big Secret

"The best way to monetize social media is to empower people to promote products to their friends not for brands to spam you on Facebook," wrote Wade Gerten "Online shopping experiences are better when they're social."
At the end of the day, f-commerce needs to remain social. What do you think? Will Facebook commerce be a boom or bust?