eBay Commerce Cookbook

Chapter 5. Consumption and Sharing

The last stage in the simplified commerce lifecycle (Figure 5-1) is the consumption and sharing of the product or service by the customer. In this stage customers are developing their overall perception of what they have purchased and discussing it with friends in their social circles. The time window for this stage typically starts when the customer receives the product or begins using the service purchased, although the sharing of a product purchasing experience could begin even earlier in the cycle. In either case, it is important for vendors to realize that during this stage, customers can be the best source for driving future sales and new revolutions of the commerce lifecycle.

Figure 5-1. Simplified commerce lifecycle—stage 5

In many cases, this stage—in keeping with its place in the commerce lifecycle—is thought of last. Little investment may be made in improving the customer’s consumption and sharing of a product. However, with some effort and simple API incorporation, this stage can quickly become a high-quality gear in the engine producing future leads and sales. This chapter will focus on two aspects of customer sharing: enabling sharing with technology and using APIs to create targeted social recommendations.

5.1. Sharing with QR Codes

Opportunity

One of the primary ways consumers share product favorites is word of mouth. For a vendor, there ...