PESTLE is a tool often used to outline a company’s ecosystem. It stands for Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Legal and Environmental. The framework gives a bird’s eye view of BookUnit’s environment from many different angles.

 

 

PESTLE analysis of the m-commerce market

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There’s no denying that smartphones have become part and parcel of our social lives. According to a recent study carried out by Deloitte, 74% of Belgians owns one. Hence, it comes as no surprise that there is a rising trust among consumers in mobile shopping practices. With the continuous growth of mobile technology, purchasing through mobile browsers and apps has become easier and easier. Furthermore, the increasing penetration rate of wireless internet makes mobile shopping possible at any place, at any time. As a result, the m-commerce industry is thriving. Research by BeCommerce shows that, in 2015, 12% of Belgian e-commerce sales were generated by mobile devices. Also, the annual turnover of the Belgian m-commerce market is forecasted to easily surpass one billion euros by 2016. Looking at global statistics, the Belgian m-commerce industry has a very high growth potential.

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M-commerce has not only brought fundamental changes to the economic system, but also to the environment, for better or for worse. On the one hand, mobile shopping entails positive impacts such as dematerialization, demobilization and decarbonisation. On the other hand, m-commerce implies the use of a lot of energy intensive computers and packaging materials. Hence, m-commerce can be seen as a double-edged sword. In the case of C2C services such as BookUnit, the positive effects clearly outbalance the negative ones. In terms of politics and legislation, similar laws apply to m-commerce as to physical commerce. However, the WER (Wetboek van Economisch Recht) contains a few specifically designed laws, primarily focussed on protecting e- and m-commerce customers.

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PESTLE analysis of the second hand book market

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According to a recent study conducted by iVox, 37% of the Belgian population has already bought a second hand product in 2016. What is specifically interesting here, is that books in particular represent one third – i.e. 33,7% - of the total amount of sold second hand products. Even though it is quite impossible to determine the total revenue of this industry – since most of the transactions are made between private individuals – it is undeniable that the second hand book market has the wind in its sails.

 

Given the fact that, nowadays, an increasing amount of players takes the jump to the e- and m-commerce market, we expect that the market share of second hand books as a whole will grow considerably. First of all, thanks to various technological innovations, second hand books have become increasingly accessible: just with a quick and simple research on the world wide web, it is possible to find and buy a second hand version of any book you want. 

 

In the case of the second hand book market, the economical and the social aspect are strongly related to each other. In fact, because of the economical crisis, a lot of people have developed a tendency to save their money. They try to save money everywhere they can. So why would one buy a brand new book if one can find a second hand version for a strongly reduced price? What is equally important in the choice between new and used, is the increasing ecological consciousness. By giving books a second chance, we strongly reduce the environmental impact of production. The reuse of books is thus both beneficial for the environment and for one’s money. Concerning the political and legislative aspect of the second hand book market, there is not much to say.

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Conclusion of both markets

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Both the m-commerce market and the second hand book market are on the increase and still have a lot of potential to grow even more. The service offered by BookUnit is positioned in the crossroads of these two growing markets. That is why we strongly believe in our chances to succeed.