Facebook is testing a way for people to
browse,
shop and buy products completely through its
platform.
|
Facebook is testing a way to become a virtual shopping mall.
To do this, the social network will help businesses transform their Facebook pages into e-commerce sites.
A retailer, for example, could list and sell products directly through itsFacebook (FB, Tech30) page.
People who visit the page would be able to browse, shop and pay without
ever leaving Facebook's mobile app, or Facebook.com. (This story was
first reported by BuzzFeed.)
This idea is appealing for companies who want as many ways to sell their
products as possible. On the other hand, if more businesses start
selling on Facebook, they'll be at the mercy of Facebook's algorithms
and probably have to start buying ads to make sure people see their
products. Facebook could also start taking a cut of sales in the future,
resulting in possibly higher prices for customers.
At the end of the day, this experiment will likely become a reality. It
fits well with what Facebook has already become very good at doing --
online communication and advertising.
During its F8 conference earlier this year, CEO Mark Zuckerberg
announced that users will be able to chat with businesses and track
packages within Messenger, and transfer money between friends.
Giving companies a way to sell their products would tie these strings
together. More importantly, the plan would reinforce Facebook's message
that the data it has on its users are better than anyone else's. This is
especially important for ad targeting. After all, if you're an
advertiser paying to show people a post that people can click on to buy
something, you'll see an immediate and direct pay off for your
investment.
Google (GOOGL, Tech30) --
Facebook's biggest competitor -- has been working on its own version of
a "buy now through us" strategy. Just this week, Google launched the
ability for businesses to sell products through its site, so that when
people click on a Google shopping ad, they're taken to the page where
they can check out using saved payment information from their Google
accounts.
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