- Facebook recently announced a new feature called Shops. This is how it works.
Facebook recently announced a new feature called Shops, which is a platform that enables businesses to sell their products online through Facebook or Instagram for free. And products in the Shops can be promoted through Stories on Facebook and Instagram along with ads.
“And just like when you’re in a physical store and need to ask someone for help, in Facebook Shops you’ll be able to message a business through WhatsApp, Messenger or Instagram Direct to ask questions, get support, track deliveries and more. And in the future, you’ll be able to view a business’ shop and make purchases right within a chat in WhatsApp, Messenger or Instagram Direct,” said Facebook in a blog post.
Activity in Facebook Shops will not be shared with friends on in feeds for privacy reasons. Facebook will just share data with businesses about the performance.
Facebook is working closely with partners such as Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce, ChannelAdvisor, CedCommerce, Cafe24, Tienda Nube, and Feedonomics.
“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,” added Facebook.
Facebook Shops can be found within a Facebook Page or through an Instagram profile. And starting this summer, Facebook is introducing Instagram Shop — which is a new way to discover and buy products you might be intrigued by within Instagram Explore.
“You can get inspired by collections from @shop, browse selections from your favorite brands and creators, filter by categories like beauty and home, and purchase the looks you love all in one place. And later this year, we’re adding a new shop tab in the navigation bar, so you can get to Instagram Shop in just one tap,” explained Facebook.
Plus Facebook also revealed it is testing ways to make it easier to earn rewards with businesses by enabling you to connect your loyalty programs. Through this platform, you would be able to easily see and keep track of your points and rewards.
During a live stream, Facebook CEO and co-founder Mark Zuckerberg said that the company has been seeing a lot of small businesses that never had online presences go online for the first time.
“For a lot of small businesses in this period, this is the difference between staying afloat and going under,” commented Zuckereberg.
Facebook Vice President of Ads & Business Platform told Business Insider that the company will be moderating Facebook Shops very closely.
“Obviously, integrity issues are really core to everything on Facebook. Whether its commerce or content, we take this integrity challenge very seriously. We have a very built-out program for already checking commerce ads on Facebook, which will be expanding similar types of policies, enforcement into shops as well,” replied Levy in an interview with Business Insider when asked about security.
