Did you know that one-third of new businesses (eCommerce-based businesses) do not make it past the first two years? The average life expectancy for a new eCommerce business is five years but, eCommerce is also one of few businesses that can employ numerous marketing techniques and still produce exceptional results on each technique.

Why do so many businesses fail in their starting stages?

Although many are aware of innovative marketing techniques, very few employ them. Consider group buying, for example. While many eCommerce businesses know it exists, very few businesses key into the benefits of group buying for them and their customers.

What is Group Buying?

Have you ever wanted to get matching tattoos with a friend because the tattoo parlor offered a "bring a friend and pay half price" deal? Well, group buying is something like that. Group buying is also called community buying. Group buying site utilizes bulk buying groups to reduce the overall cost of a product. In group buying, a group of people who want the same product will partner together and pay a discounted price for the product.

Group buying creates a mutually beneficial scenario for buyers and sellers alike. But the chances of a successful group buying experience are higher when combined with online shopping than in physical stores. Group buying in eCommerce happens in organized and unorganized (casual organized) modes.

• Casual Organization:in this form of group buying, interested individuals come together, and with a leader at the head of the purchase, they request a product at a discounted rate. These organizations are commonly found in hobby groups or within a community (physical location).
• Organized Group Buying:social commerce is more evident in organized group-buying sections. Influencers can create a group buying event. They sell or direct their followers to buy a particular product all at the same time at these events. Group buying events like this often involve highly discounted products.

How Does Group Buying Work?

eCommerce brands should look into group buying as it increases their customer base while they sell plenty of products at a minimized delivery cost. As an eCommerce business in today’s world, social media has to be your best friend. Social media eliminates the bottlenecks associated with entities by creating a platform for interaction beyond sales.

Group buying, particularly, structures carried out by influencers, can dramatically increase sales. A good way eCommerce businesses can utilize social commerce is by combining influencer marketing with group buying. Group buying is on the rise so much that eCommerce businesses dedicated to group buying exist. Examples of such entities are; Groupon and Pinduoduo.

It is no news that the coronavirus pandemic increased the number of times people spend online and their online shopping habits. If eCommerce businesses partner with an influencer to promote the sale of a product for one day at a discounted amount, all parties involved will win.

Group buying works when you, as an eCommerce business, encourage consumers to purchase a particular product at a slated time at a lesser price. How you choose to convince customers to buy products on the slated day is up to you but based on past results. Partnering with an influencer or even community leader works.

Benefits of Group Buying

Although a relatively new buzzword in the eCommerce segment, clearly group buying has a lot of benefits for eCommerce brands. And we can summarize them from the following perspectives.

1. General Cost Savings:Who does not love a mutually beneficial relationship? Group buying results in a reduced cost for all parties involved. Consumers get to receive a product they want for a price lower than it regularly goes for, and eCommerce sellers get to reduce manufacturing procurement costs by handling large orders.
2. Lower Logistics Costs:Group buying reduces the logistics costs for businesses by sending off each bulk order in a single day instead of spreading it over time based on order date.
3. Direct Access to Manufacturers:Group buying involves order amounts that can sometimes not be fulfilled by third parties. Since group buying deals with largely discounted items, both eCommerce brands, and consumers can communicate with product manufacturers directly. This direct access increases order accuracy and quality.
4. Faster Shipping:As group buying targets a singular product, order fulfillment happens much quicker. It is like this. If eCommerce businesses focus on producing one item, shipping time reduces since the procurement process for each product, irrespective of the order quantity, is the same.

Conclusion

Social commerce is the way to forge ahead in the online space, and the sooner eCommerce businesses utilize the tools available to them, the faster their businesses can see results. While we encourage using all social media tools available, we understand how overwhelming it can be for SMEs. To simplify the social commerce process but still provide measurable results for your business, AllValue was created.

AllValue is an eCommerce software tool fully equipped with all the tools needed for social media integration. All that remains on your road to eCommerce success is to use the tools at your disposal. AllValue is home to the top-of-the-line mobile and social commerce features that will maximize your business's group buying tactic. Visit AllValue to begin your journey to successful group buying.