Communication

Communication is a method of engagement and it is central to human life. It can be defined as the verbal exchange and reciprocation of thoughts or ideas between people where information is transmitted (Littlejohn and Foss, 2010). Communication means the exchange and reciprocation of effects among individuals with various levels of social distance (Rogers, 1999). On the other hand, Berelson and Steiner (1964), indicated that, communication is a process in which information, ideas, thoughts, emotions, skills, are transmitted using symbols, voice, words, pictures, figures, and graphs (Dance, 1970). In the political context, the communication ability of a leader is a driving factor for engagement, whereas, in the organisational context, it is a critical factor for employee engagement (Welch, 2011). According to researchers from the field of psychology, sociology, or business, communication is a process, which is important for information transmission and it entails understanding various people’s behaviours in reciprocating and interpreting messages (Littlejohn and Foss, 2010).

In the eCommerce context, electronic data exchange and information transmission occur through computer-to-computer communication (Molla and Licker, 2001). Companies use different channels of communication such as: (1) live chat to provide free and 24/7 support to their customers; (2) email, which support the after-hours feedback from the customer or which allows companies to send important information to their customers; (3) phone support, calling or receiving phone calls is also considered to the important element of communication; (4) advertisements, which are considered to be the most expensive mode of communication, but very effective; (5) blogs, which represents a suitable platform for companies to converse with their consumers; (6) customer generated—many companies provide a communication platform, where users can put their feedback and suggestions and are able to answer other customer’s questions (i.e. forums) (Cheng et al., 2017, Munawar et al., 2017, He, 2017).

In sCommerce marketing, communication is essential for networking. Furthermore, sCommerce communication is significantly more than only a collection of words. Beyond any doubt what a company or its customers say is essential. Research suggested several trends of sCommerce communication in order to take full advantage of this factor (Zhou et al., 2013, Cheng et al., 2017, Munawar et al., 2017, Jacobsen and Barnes, 2017, He, 2017). Different strategies of communication in the sCommerce context are discussed below.

Providing Clients Reviews

Clients reviews—in the context of sCommerce—can have a huge effect on the way individuals buy things on the web. An examination by Hubspot demonstrates that individuals are 75% more likely to buy an item when referred by a friend on an sCommerce platform. More than 90% of individuals take proposals from friends and 70% trust customer audits more than promotions (Munawar et al., 2017, Cheng et al., 2017). Therefore, to guarantee that company clients refer their brand to their friends on various sCommerce networks, companies have to give them incentives, such as discounts, and must engage with them regularly.

Offers on Social Media

Another approach, which a few leading brands and business people have used, is to offer products or services directly on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest and other sCommerce utilising web-based social networking store applications. This enables a company to let consumers to buy goods, while remaining on their preferred sCommerce website. Disposing of the extra step of directing clients from sCommerce to another online store enhances the client’s experience and makes the purchasing procedure more helpful (He, 2017).

Displaying Targeted Ads

Targeted ads on social media, such as Facebook can promote the business. In 2017, Facebook reported that its revenue came from ads which represent 98% of the company (Fortune, 2017). In the context of communication in sCommerce, researchers have suggested that communication in the field of sCommerce is much more about the collection of different words, it is important what companies say to their customers (Cheng et al., 2017, Munawar et al., 2017); but more importantly is how they say it, when they say it, what the company emphasises and how consumers perceive it (Cheng et al., 2017).

Stop Ignoring Unpopular Social Channels

Most business organisations always target the world’s leading social media (e.g. Facebook) channels to advertise and ignore the other channels. In this way, an organisation may lose customers, as every social media has a group of people or community. Therefore, organisations should advertise their business on every relevant social channel.

Thus, it is important to study the impact of communication in the sCommerce context, which is different than other contexts (eCommerce).

2.6

Summary

This chapter presented the literature reviewed on eCommerce, sCommerce, customers’ loyalty and the factors that affects (both directly and indirectly) customers’ loyalty to sCommerce websites. This chapter presented the customers’ loyalty approaches and identified the appropriate approach for this study. The above literature review has helped in identifying the sCommerce related factors for use in a conceptual framework to continue this study from the perspective of the research gap mentioned earlier in the introduction. The next chapter will present the theoretical background, the research model and hypotheses as well.

The Theoretical Framework and Research

Hypotheses

SCommerce has rapidly appeared as a new area of investigation for both researchers and businesses (Lu et al., 2016, Zhang et al., 2014, Hajli, 2015a).

Literature shows that sCommerce is a type of eCommerce that uses social media and is a convergence between the offline and online environments (Wang and Zhang, 2012a). In a wider aspect, sCommerce employs Internet technology-based channels and media that allow people to contribute in the electronic marketing, buying, comparing, selling, curating and sharing of goods and online services in both offline and online eMarketplaces (Lu et al., 2016, Zhang et al., 2014, Hajli, 2015a).

First, this chapter provides the theoretical background. It then presents the theoretical concepts used in the research model and discusses their relevance to sCommerce and customer loyalty. Finally, it presents the research model as well as the research hypotheses and their justification.