This study focuses on different modalities of commerce in social media in Kazakhstan and how sellers create online trust using platform features, personal skills, and physical locations of stores associated with social media accounts. Social media trading is a part of electronic commerce which is a new and technologically advanced type of business, but many traders operate informally as they do not comply with legal norms such as business registration, paying taxes and giving receipts. Just as individual traders flocked to the streets during the period of perestroika, today's small business owners have taken over social media and turned it into an electronic bazaar.
Driven by the issue of trust building in a complex area of electronic, yet informal commerce, I focus on a concept of a "living account" that is created through my ethnographic data (interviews, . observations and social media content analysis ). Alima Bissenova, the director of the Eurasian Studies MA program for the supportive and family-like atmosphere at the program. Alexander Morrison, the former director of the Eurasian Studies MA programme, who was the first person I discussed my topic with.
This label contains the initials of the American Library Association (ALA) and the Library of Congress (LC).
Introduction
One of the hallmarks of the Soviet economy was mass employment, which was possible thanks to the "central planning" mentioned above. For example, after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the chain involving Kazakhstan was broken (Özcan, 2016). According to Bah and Barda (2014), there were no SMEs at the beginning of the transition, but they played an important role in the growing economy during the transition.
Unemployment in the late 1980s and early 1990s had a female face with 85% of the unemployed being women. In the ever-evolving world of e-business, some of the essential features of the transition economy (which may not be over) such as the commonality of informal trade, the relationship of trust between sellers and consumers and the female face of the commercial sector are still there. present in e-commerce (originating from social media), but in a slightly different form. The live account itself becomes part of the equation that leads to trust and therefore sales.
According to e-commerce studies conducted in Thailand (Ackaradejruangsri, 2015), Russia (Garifova, 2016), Malaysia (Sin et al., 2016) and Nigeria (Faloye, 2014) building trust online is one of the most challenging aspects for entrepreneurs. One of the interviews was conducted in a cafe right after I was introduced to the designer of the brand by the manager at a fashion fair. I did almost all of the scheduled online interviews in a coffee shop (partially because some of them didn't have a physical store).
Modalities of Instagram trade
This means that there are new features and updates that reshape the use of the application. Other recent changes important for commerce on Instagram and product promotion are interactive prices placed on the image (2.2) and sponsor of the publication (2.3). At this time, she decided to expand the selection of goods on her Instagram page.
At first, her friend created a page on Instagram, and only when she had enough customers, she opened a store in one of the business centers. In general, all the participants mentioned above started their business on Instagram and made it their primary activity. Some started it because of the need to make money, and some because of the need to help solve a problem they saw in the market.
Fazilat (34) holds the position of head of the advertising and marketing department at a large company. But then it expanded via Instagram as she uploaded photos of the bags. Although some participants tended to idealize their work on Instagram and wanted to be seen as having higher motivation, all were concerned about how their business would develop and looked for opportunities to expand it.
Some of the participants acknowledged the role their loved ones played in the development of their business. Since all the study participants are women, I find it important to focus on kinship ties and the role they play in trading experiences. Meruert is still responsible for clothes as she knows exactly all the information about them.
Thus, she is able to store all 42 dresses she now owns without having to pay annual rent. Since these women do not make money from the need to feed themselves, they preferred to call their business a hobby.
Trust on Instagram — Instagram profile as a guarantee
Thinking of the process of bringing accounts to life in terms of animation helps to understand the two opposite components of one. Thus, account management and development consists of both mechanical and emotional components that can be referenced through the mechanical use of the platform and the creation of emotional content. A person who is not interested in the maximum may not understand the nuances of the goods and the brand.
I have to tell everyone all the details.' That's why she decided to do everything herself. They can be recognized by the high number of followers and the number of likes, which is approximately less than 10% of the number of followers. One of the hallmarks of 'live' followers is customer reviews, as these reflect the existence of social relationships between customers and merchants.
In one of the accounts I analyzed qualitatively, one in five of the latest posts was a photo of a customer. This indicates the fatality of the labor, as it does not appear to be a real job, because Fazilat does not sell her product, she creates a possibility for the sale by building an infrastructure. In the case of the participants of my study, "the points" can be found online in the form of posts, comments, personal communications in messengers, they leave quite a few digital traces.
Although Fazilat sells bags and most often posts pictures of bags she wants. In most cases – 62% of accounts – the only function of the text is to provide basic information such as size and price. One of the main functions of a photograph is of course to showcase a product and as.
I got my nails done and want to show off my manicure while holding one of the purses. Photographs are then 'indexical' of the existing phatic contact of sellers and consumers in Pierce's sense.
Communication with an offline world
However, one of the neighboring brands actually lowered their prices the next day to boost sales. For Fazilat, participating in the fair is one of the ways she promotes her business. Amina found an interesting solution to the issue of the location of a physical store - she has turned one of the rooms of her apartment into a store.
When customers come for the first time they are surprised to see my little boutique that is hidden inside the apartment. It is important for him to keep things comfortable but at the same time to maintain the status of the brands he sells. You know, it's not Artyom or Mega.” 4 most customers who visit their boutique come from Instagram.
Although it is located close to the left and right banks of the city, no more than 200 people pass by per day. Similar to online personal presentation, when according to Gershon (2014) “the author of a profile is generally considered to be an offline person with an offline name and appearance who. Customers come from Instagram and if they are informed, not many potential customers are likely to complain.
One of the store owners from Almaty whom I met at a fashion fair told me that she uses Instagram stories and Instagram live to show customers products. Overall, it is an important sales market for all participants with both physical and online stores, although Instagram is not the only tool that store owners use. The way Instagram stores work, according to the participants of this study, assumes that Instagram has all the necessary functions to maintain communication with customers.
There is a function similar to direct messages on Instagram that allows users to send messages to groups, but in this case all participants can be included in the conversation. On the other hand, other stores are beautifully integrated with their Instagram profiles from the overall continuity of clothing style, communication and experience of a physical store through photos and stories.
Conclusion
As bazaars in the region are dominated by female vendors due to the shuttle trade. As in the 1990s, women were able to provide for their families; some of the women who shop on Instagram also refer to that as the reason for starting their business. Most of the business owners I interviewed were not registered at the beginning of their business, but as soon as they opened a physical store and began to think of it as a business, they did.
Similarly, informality in the case of commerce on Instagram can be a survival tool that allows women to earn money, provide for their families, and provide them with an enjoyable job that they perceive as a profession. It is part of the fun content of the profile, which creates a story, as in the case of Bakhyt's dress rental service. Also, sellers who create their own brand associated with the store on Instagram play an important role in creating a zhivoĭ account.
In the case of Instagram stores, it is the seller who becomes the representation of a brand through communication with customers both online and offline. Communication is one of the skills sellers learn to develop in the process of selling on Instagram. Whether an account lives its life or not creates confidence in Internet-mediated trading.
The second wave consisted of professionals and "former members of the nomenklatura" (party elite in the Soviet Union) in the 1990s. Social media trading then represents the fourth wave of entrepreneurship in the region and forms the next step in. Social media commerce belongs to the biggest trend of e-commerce development in the region.
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