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Facebook has this week announced the launch of ‘Facebook Shops.’ It’s a major ecommerce move for the world’s largest social network targeting small businesses to operate a single online store that will work across Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
About 2.5 billion are monthly active users on Facebook as at December 2019. The social network has over 4 billion users across all its social media platforms,
Facebook Shops will give small businesses tools to create online stores on Facebook and Instagram – they will be able to display and sell products on all of its social media platforms, said Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg.
It’s a major move for Facebook leveraging expanding opportunities for ecommerce as the COVID-19 pandemic forces most of the world to go shopping online.
Below are details of ‘Facebook Shops’ from the blog post by the social media giant.
“We want to give people a place to experience the joy of shopping versus the chore of buying. And we want to help small businesses adapt and make it easier for people to discover and shop for things they love.
“Right now many small businesses are struggling, and with stores closing, more are looking to bring their business online. Our goal is to make shopping seamless and empower anyone from a small business owner to a global brand to use our apps to connect with customers. That’s why we’re launching Facebook Shops and investing in features across our apps that inspire people to shop and make buying and selling online easier.
Facebook Shops make it easy for businesses to set up a single online store for customers to access on both Facebook and Instagram. Creating a Facebook Shop is free and simple. Businesses can choose the products they want to feature from their catalog and then customize the look and feel of their shop with a cover image and accent colors that showcase their brand. This means any seller, no matter their size or budget, can bring their business online and connect with customers wherever and whenever it’s convenient for them.
Notably, a new “Instagram Shop” tab will be coming to the bottom bar tab of the app “this summer” that will replace the Activity tab. That could definitely see some resistance from users. The company will also bring shopping to both Facebook and Instagram Live videos.
Additional reports: Reuters, 9to5Mac
