India today has dramatically adapted to the increasing social commerce, which gained great significance during the pandemic. Indian users comprise a significant portion of the global market and are the key target audiences influencing such businesses to expand. Social commerce can include the social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram catering to fashion, style, education and multiple other areas. Apart from those, other social apps deal with their own application for buying, selling and reselling products. Examples include the newly emerging Meesho, Shopee, Citymall, Bulbul and so on.

The idea of social commerce has led to a change from one-to-one interaction to a global-based approach with greater interaction. It has also presented a cost-effective alternative for larger business brands that reel under the pressure of procuring customer costs and retaining them from competitors wooing them with deep discounts. The social reselling apps can be downloaded for free and is a great means for the target audiences who would love to earn an extra income through the same. The resellers share their selected products on their personal social media platforms which are passed on to the supplier and the order gets delivered to the end customer through their logistic partners. These platforms do not require a multi-level structure as in recruiting other resellers under them, and one can work individually and gain profit according to the order claimed.

Platforms like Meesho, Citymall, and Bulbul have become gamechanger in the Indian market as it allows audiences to continue with their startups. It helps in engaging with the customers directly, to understand their likes and dislikes through the reviews and comments made in the same. Social media also helps in promoting these apps and creating a buzz around the products. It follows a simple formula which is to get people talking and the sale starts growing. It becomes advantageous for the resellers to deal with the customers as the suppliers get it at a wholesale price.

Unraveling Popularity

The reselling social commerce apps prove to be highly beneficial to the end customers for the following reasons:

Good Relation: The remarkable feature of social commerce is the buyer and seller bond which makes it easier for the customers to negotiate the prices, and comment on their satisfaction level through reviews and comments which makes the task easier for the seller and the company to look into it.

Personalisation and Convenient Search: Unlike the traditional methods where the customers are expected to filter their own search from the huge list to select their products, the resellers already curate products as per the taste of the customers to make the task easier for them.

Hassle-free Refunds and Return Policy: The customers do not need to think about the quality of the products and if that would suit their needs as platforms like Meesho, Shopee etc, comes with a simple method of initiating refunds and returns if the customer feels unsatisfied with the product delivered. Such a process can be initiated with the tip of a finger through the personalised app and the customers can sit back and relax as the refund gets reflected in their bank account.

Unbelievable Prices: The most interesting part of these platforms is the severely pocket-friendly budget that the customer encounters. Prices also tend to be lower than the traditional e-commerce platforms as the customer acquisition cost incurred through the social reselling apps is on the lower side.

New Business Opportunities: In a country like India, where the female workforce merely accounts for 23%, social reselling apps provide a great opportunity for women to widen their business ideas and indulge in the marketing aspect at their own convenience. This creates a sense of self-worth and motivation in the widely neglected sex. The most popular products being apparel, footwear, electronics and home appliances, women with their innovative eyes can run the reselling system smoothly.

Conclusion

With such clear-cut advantages, reseller-laid social commerce has taken up a wide space in the market-based economy. It has become a powerful way of reaching over 500 million people and had increased the pace of the buying-selling ratio in the country. As it caters to the several requirements of the user segment, thousands of people from underdeveloped areas are also able to connect with the same, enabling them for earning sufficient income. Through the cohesion of social media and online shopping, social commerce promises a great ability of growth and expansion for years to come.