Skype as an eCommerce tool
Although the use of Skype for online business is definitely a niche activity, a number of businesses are doing innovative things with it. And the availability of the new multi-person videoconferencing feature means that, if your Web-based business could be helped by meeting your customers face-to-face, you might want to consider adding this capability to the list of ways your customers can contact you.
"We offer shopping tours for those customers who want to shop in a New York City boutique but can't make the trip due to finances or time constraints," says Natasha Malinsky, Shopping and Lifestyle Consolidator for ShopNYC Tours. The company arranges shopping tours for people who are actually in New York; the virtual shopping option is an added feature that lets consumers browse boutiques either of their choice or that the service chooses for them.
Just how popular will Skype ecommerce be? Marc Appana, vice-president and senior consultant with FitForCommerce, sees Skype as a niche activity for businesses that are comfortable with such technologies.
"We aren't seeing a lot of retailers in the market using Skype for ecommerce business," says Appana. "Some companies are using it for replacing PBX systems, VoIP systems or 1-800 numbers. The problem is that the end-user or consumer has to have Skype installed and has to have an understanding of how to use it."
Read the complete article on AuctionBytes
Please add your comment