Page 267 - The Digital Financial Services (DFS) Ecosystem

ITU-T Focus Group Digital Financial Services
Ecosystem

4.4 Marketplaces

Social networks have the natural ability to bring buyers and sellers together. Important capabilities include:

• Large network: Social networks have more users than the largest e-commerce marketplaces and already
serve buyers and sellers.
• Digital onboarding: Social networks make it easy for merchants to set up an online presence (e.g., site
templates) reducing the need to build specialized websites.

• Communication tools: Social networks have private messaging capabilities that consumers and merchants
can use for sales and customer service.

• Deep customer insight: Social networks have deep knowledge about their users (see the appendix for
details). This can be used to help merchants reach their targets and keep advertising content relevant to
users.
• Payment facilitation: Social networks can facilitate payments between consumers and merchants.

4.4.1 BoP use cases and benefits – consumers

Product and merchant search

Social networks can help consumers purchase from a wider array of merchants and discover new products.
This may occur through marketplaces where merchants and consumers connect, or may just involve simple
search functionality.

Virtual sales and customer service
A BoP customer and merchant could use a chat application to discuss price and availability of a harvested crop.
Chatbots could also answer customer questions 24/7 (e.g., prices).

Virtual assistance

Chatbots could advocate for the poor. For example, a BoP shopper could inquire about a merchant’s produce
prices. After seeing the price quote, the shopper’s personal chatbot may find better prices from other sellers.

4.4.2 BoP use cases and benefits – merchants / employees

Deeper engagement with existing customers
The BoP could use social networks to better engage their customers. For example, they could announce the
arrival of fresh produce to local residents.

Access to new customers
The digital nature of social networks allows merchants to expose their products and services to a wider
audience. These might be locals who were simply unaware of what their local merchants offered, or even new
customers from neighbouring villages.

Remote commerce/e-commerce opportunities

With wide access to sellers and buyers, social networks can create opportunities that might not otherwise exist.

• Marketplace access: Rural villagers in China have become e-commerce entrepreneurs. Alibaba has
created 780 Taobao villages where locals have launched over 200,000 online stores selling anything from

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