- Today Facebook, Inc (NASDAQ: FB) announced it is launching several e-commerce features in its main app and Instagram
Today Facebook, Inc (NASDAQ: FB) announced it is launching several e-commerce features in its main app and Instagram. Specifically, Facebook is launching Facebook Shop — which is a new place for discovering businesses and shop for products within the Facebook app. And Facebook is expanding checkout on Instagram for all U.S. businesses.
With the COVID-19 pandemic, online shopping rapidly accelerated as 85% of people worldwide are now shopping online. This is why Facebook wanted to make it easier for people to shop.
Through Facebook Shop, people will be able to find products from the businesses where they like to shop in one place. This feature started being tested in the U.S. and Facebook also launched a complementary shopping for Instagram in July called Instagram Shop for people to discover and buy products from creators and brands in one place.
Shops makes it much simpler for businesses to launch a single online store that customers can discover both on Facebook and Instagram. Shops had launched back in May and in the next few weeks, Facebook is going to make it available for any eligible business. And Facebook is adding customization features, messaging, and insights for helping businesses measure results.
The new features give businesses more control over storefront looks and it makes creating new collections easier.
In terms of messaging, businesses can provide personalized assistance so users can make more informed decisions about their purchases. And the new messaging button on Shops makes it easier for people to message businesses through Messenger, WhatsApp, or Instagram Direct.
With Live Shopping, Facebook is also making it easier for people to shop in real-time. This feature is being tested on Facebook and Instagram. ANd Facebook Live Shopping now includes new features for helping businesses easily set up a live experience featuring products from their Shop and sell directly from the video. Instagram Live Shopping is now available for all businesses and creators using checkout in the U.S.
To help businesses during the economic crisis, Facebook is waiving the selling fees through the end of the year. This will reduce the cost of doing business online.
