The explosive growth of social networking sites (SNSs) has
given rise to a new electronic commerce (e-commerce) paradigm
called social commerce (s-commerce). S-commerce users employ
SNSs as a tool for collaboration to share online shopping experiences
and product- and service-related information. In addition,
s-commerce users make informed purchases and obtain the best
prices by exchanging trustworthy information on certain products
and services, which is a unique strength of s-commerce.
Stephen and Toubia (2010) defined s-commerce as a subset of
e-commerce and a group- and relation-based online open market.
In addition, Marsden (2010) claimed that s-commerce combines ecommerce
with SNSs to facilitate the selling and buying of products
and services by using various internet technologies. S-commerce
first appeared in Korea in 2008, and since then, it has experienced
explosive growth, attracting a large number of firms and customers
anticipating its growth potential.