Role of social-commerce from entertainment to empowerment.

• Author: Sandhu, Amna S.

Byline: Amna S. Sandhu

The current gender gap in financial inclusion is 27.6 percent in Pakistan, according to Global Findex 2017. Policymakers often prioritise closing the gender gap in account ownership as a tool to empower women. However, research has shown that a mere bank account in itself does not lead to empowerment unless it is followed by a compelling reason to use it.

Fourth industrial revolution has brought many captivating opportunities, one of them aims to empower women through an informal variant of e-commerce. Global Consumer Insights Survey 2018 by PricewaterhouseCoopers estimated that one-tenth of worldwide sales were online. According to State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), online sales reached Rs 40 billion in FY18 following an almost 94 percent annual growth rate. Services sector is the major contributor to this online market growth and holds almost 60 percent shares in the GDP. SBP also reported that the number of merchants operating online increased from 905 to 1023 in the last quarter of 2018 only.

Commerce has long moved from conventional brick and mortar to online and now it's taking a leap from websites to social media. In a classic e-commerce setup, products or services are showcased, ordered and processed through formal electronic channels such as websites. Whereas, in this informal variant called Social Commerce (Harris and Rae, 2009), products or services are displayed and sold through social platforms such as Facebook and Instagram using them as online stores, while payments are mostly done through cash-on-delivery. This mix of social media and business acumen connects small and micro entrepreneurs and shoppers across diverse markets, thus, opening new opportunities that were unavailable earlier.

Data from a marketing consultancy firm, Kepios, found that there are approximately 35 million active social media users in Pakistan. This is a direct outcome of recent penetration of smartphones and widespread cheaper internet infrastructure. According to one report, more than 73 percent of adult population has access to mobile phone and about 9 million of them use smartphones. Therefore, providing manufacturers, wholesalers and retailers a new space to market and reach out to wider customer base. Moreover, social channels provide access to a highly engaged audience owing to the technological advancements such as Artificial Intelligence that filters and targets audience that suits the products/service, thus, possess a strong...