“C2C” stands for “consumer-to-consumer”, which means that consumers get the goods or services they need at a low cost, often far lower than those charged by large retailers. If you are wondering what is C2C? It is also an interchangeable acronym for consumer-to-consumer, used to describe a model of eCommerce business that allows consumers to purchase goods or services directly from other consumers, using electronic platforms like eBay or Etsy. While traditional, fixed-price retail models have been widely deemed as a model for corporate marketing and advertising, a growing number of small businesses have begun to use this model as well, to market their goods or services to customers directly. Indeed, in many instances, small businesses have discovered that establishing a direct, two-way relationship with a customer can bring tremendous benefits.
Better quality or come at a reduced cost
The benefits from establishing a direct connection with consumers come from the fact that it tends to yield more sales in terms of sales. Doing transactions through eBay for example, the fees are lower than almost any other traditional merchant. In addition, consumers tend to trust that goods or services offered by other consumers will be of better quality or come at a reduced cost than those offered by companies that do not establish direct relationships with consumers. Additionally, consumers often want to know that the company they are buying from is transparent in its dealings and that it offers them a choice as to whether or not to purchase goods from that company. For these reasons, when setting up a C2C commerce platform, a company needs to offer consumers several choices about the kinds of relationships it might have with them.
Allowing consumers to open an account with the retailer as a virtual assistant
One of the most common types of relationships a company establishes with consumers is by allowing them to open an account with the retailer as a virtual assistant, who works for the retailer, selling the retailer’s goods as if they were his own. This is an arrangement that has many benefits for consumers, since the assistant is paid for the goods sold and does not work for the company, he or she may be able to recommend other independent stores that are not owned by the company. Moreover, because the assistant is working under the premise that he or she will be working for the company, the online store’s privacy policy can provide assurances about what kind of personal information the assistant will receive and how that information may be used by the company to sell its goods.
Another popular arrangement involves the establishment of a consumer portal, or packed, on which consumers can enter their credit card or debit card details to make purchases. When these transactions go through, the back-end company matches the details provided by the consumer with the details entered by the retailer, and the retailer pays the backend service provider. This is a convenient arrangement since the retailer needs only pay for the transactions it has enabled and the consumer need not pay anything extra for the backend services. However, this setup has several disadvantages. Namely, the consumer is likely to encounter spam on his or her computer; the consumer’s data is more prone to being hacked, and the company does not profit from any of the consumer’s sales.
New means of selling goods and services to consumers
The emergence of online marketplaces has provided a new means of selling goods and services to consumers. These marketplaces enable consumers to access a marketplace and place bids on goods offered by other consumers. The benefits of this arrangement are numerous. For starters, the marketplace provides buyers and sellers a platform where they can negotiate on prices and terms of sale. Also, the marketplaces eliminate the need for a third party to mediate the transaction between the buyer and the seller, eliminating any potential for fraud or scams. Also, these websites have no costs associated with them; they do not require a payment or subscription of any sort to users, nor do they require a commission for any goods sold through the site.
There are several types of consumer and business-driven websites, each of which offers the opportunity for sellers and buyers to interact in an online marketplace. However, when used as an effective marketing tool, many businesses can harness the power of these platforms. This is particularly true for handmade goods businesses, which often face stiff competition due to the number of products available on the online marketplace. By setting up a website, these businesses can ensure that consumers know when they are shopping at a store close to home or when they are shopping online. Moreover, by providing useful information about their products and services, these businesses can generate sales leads that they can turn into actual sales.