From e-commerce to e-commerc 2.0: The changing role of the customer

Abstract: The eCommerce developments during the last two decades show how the role of the customer dramatically has changed. Being at the end of the one-way digitalized value chain in the beginning, today the customer can be actively participate in value creation in different roles such as expert, consultant, designer, or seller. Today, consumers are at eye-level with suppliers. Web 2.0 provides a variety of opportunities for the consumers to interact with suppliers but to interact among each other as well beyond the suppliers' communication channels enabling social commerce. For the consumer this means on the one side that he or she gets more power and more independence to follow his or hers own interests. To do so, respective competencies are required. On the other side the consumer carries more responsibility as, e.g., wrong evaluations or feedbacks may have a major impact on companies, brands, or even single persons. A respective media- and information literacy is crucial in order to benefit from the new developments and in order not to get lost or even to suffer.