Ecommerce Use of Skype Remains Limited

Although the use of Skype for online business is definitely a niche activity, a number of businesses are doing innovative things with it. And the availability of the new multi-person videoconferencing feature means that, if your Web-based business could be helped by meeting your customers face-to-face, you might want to consider adding this capability to the list of ways your customers can contact you.

Number of innovative

I found a number of innovative, even offbeat, businesses using Skype for one-to-one conferencing. Just hearing what they do might get you to thinking about what Skype can do for you, whether you want to do multi-person conferencing or not:

Just how popular will Skype ecommerce be, with or without the multi-person videoconferencing feature? Marc Appana, vice-president and senior consultant with FitForCommerce, sees Skype as a niche activity for businesses that are comfortable with such technologies.

"We aren't seeing a lot of retailers in the market using Skype for ecommerce business," says Appana. "Some companies are using it for replacing PBX systems, VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) systems or 1-800 numbers. The problem is that the end-user or consumer has to have Skype installed and has to have an understanding of how to use it."

Appana is unsure whether the ability to do multi-person videoconferencing through Skype will have any impact on the market. "Social shopping is still nascent and it is unclear whether it will become truly viable and if Skype will have a place in that market," he says. But there is one area where Skype has potential, and it has nothing to do with laptops, desktops, or webcams. "There may be potential to use it on mobile phones assuming the consumer has the right phone, Skype installed, and knows how to utilize it."

In my opinion, if you add Skype to your list of contact methods for your customers or business colleagues, it won't hurt, and it certainly might help. Anything you can do to develop that all-important, one-on-one relationship with shoppers will build loyalty and repeat business, and that will help your bottom line.

About the AuthorGreg Holden is AuctionBytes Contributing Editor. He is a journalist and the author of many books, including "Starting an Online Business For Dummies," "Go Google: 20 Ways to Reach More Customers and Build Revenue with Google Business Tools," and several books about eBay, including "How to Do Everything with Your eBay Business," second edition, and "Secrets of the eBay Millionaires," both published by Osborne-McGraw Hill. Find out more on Greg's website (gregholden.com), which includes his blog, a list of his books, and his fiction and biographical writing.