Customers’ Current Preferences in E-commerce and Possible Dominance of Social Media Marketplace in the Industry

Abstract

Technological advancement and internet development have significantly contributed to more comfortable and innovative services. The e-commerce industry has become tough and full of competition. Technologies and the internet reduce barriers of penetration into new markets. Social media, which is a vivid example of internet development, has already penetrated the e-commerce industry. However, the business environment is rapidly changing and requires constant analysis to anticipate prospective threats or opportunities. Therefore, this paper refers to the analysis of customers’ current preferences. Questionnaires were distributed to 83 participants to analyze preferences and to evaluate possible dominance of “Facebook Marketplace” in the e-commerce industry. According to the results, provision of high protection is overly required. Online sales network should act as an intermediary, in order to provide refund guarantees an official verification, which is not provided by ‘Facebook Marketplace”. The survey was conducted in a country were “Facebook Marketplace” was not available, and it was impossible to identify practical challenges of the marketplace.