R-commerce

Relationship electronic commerce (r-commerce)

In reference to the writings by Janssen (2013), he described relationship-electronic commerce as a type of electronic commerce that mainly focuses on the interaction between peers and the interaction between business organizations and their target consumers. Janssen (2013) further added that r-commerce differs from the traditional e-commerce in the sense that it is more inclined towards fostering a good customer relationship rather than increasing or making sales. According to Mabry (2012), the concept of r-commerce is based on the fact that by purchasing products and services from online businesses or businesses with online presences, the businesses develop a relationship with their online customers who equally also develop a relationship with other online customers. This network or relationship presents an opportunity for marketing through word of mouth between the online businesses and their customers and between customers themselves.

Effect of r-commerce on social commerce

Social commerce is described by Mabry (2012), as another form of e-commerce that employs the use of social or online media, which facilitate social interaction and user contribution in order help making a purchase decision while doing online shopping. Therefore, it is evident that r-commerce supports social commerce, this is because r-commerce enables customers as well as online businesses to interact and thereby gather and exchange information about particular products and services that are available via the online platform. This information then facilitates social commerce since it is relayed to social media sites, communities, and review sites where social friends use the information to make a purchase decision while doing online shopping.

References

Janssen, C. (2013). Relationship E-commerce (R-Commerce). Retrieved from: http://www.techopedia.com/definition/1585/relationship-e-commerce-r-commerce. Accessed on [06.05.2013] Mabry, R. (2012). E-Commerce Blueprint: The Step-by-Step Guide to Online Store Success. USA: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.