Facebook Shops launched

Facebook has launched its own ecommerce platform called Facebook Shops. The service can be used on both Facebook and Instagram, with the products displayed through pages, stories and advertisements. In the future, placing an order in WhatsApp, Messenger and Instagram Direct will also be possible.

It’s actually a great timing of Facebook to launch its own ecommerce software Facebook Shops. Due to the many governmental measures taken to contain the coronavirus, many stores in Europe and abroad have had to close their doors. This means they miss out on revenue and not every retailer is able to just start an online store.

Not every retailer is able to just start an online store.

Opening an online store in familiar surroundings

But if you are a brick-and-mortar retailer and you are already familiar with Facebook and keeping in touch with customers through this social network or Whatsapp or Instagram (both owned by Facebook as well), then perhaps creating an online shop there seems more easy.

How to set up a Facebook Shop

Facebook Shops looks quite simple. Merchants enter a name for their shop, give it a short description, select a cover image and then choose which products they want to sell online. This can be done one by one or by importing a .xml file. Facebook says it’s also testing the possibility of creating a loyalty program through them.

Creating collections in Facebook Shop

With Facebook Shops, online retailers can adjust the layout and style of the online shop. The merchant can also create different collections. One of these collections can ten be displayed at the top of the shop.

With Facebook Shop, the social network wants to give people a place to give them the pleasure of shopping. “And we want to help small businesses adapt and make it easier for people to discover and shop for things they love”, it says.

Facebook Shop can be found on Facebook and Instagram

Consumers can visit a seller’s Facebook Shop via both Facebook and Instagram. They can discover them on a Facebook page or Instagram profile, or through advertisements and stories. From here, they can view the entire collection, save their favorite products and, of course, place an order.

Visitors can view collections, save products and place orders.

Placing an order can be done on the seller’s website, but also in the app without leaving it. The latter is currently only available in the US and retailers must have enabled Checkout on Instagram in order to offer this option.

Soon also shopping via WhatsApp

The new solution offers consumers the opportunity to ask for help through WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger or Instagram Direct. This way they can also receive further support and track their orders. In the future it will be possible to view a shop and to make purchases via chats in WhatsApp, Messenger or Instagram Direct.

And this summer, Facebook will also roll out Instagram Shop in the US, with more countries to follow later. “This is a new way to discover and buy products you like in Instagram Explore.” Users can see selections of their favorite brands, filter by categories such as beauty and home and, of course, also order these items. Later this year, a new shop tab will be added to the Instagram navigation bar.

In addition, Facebook is introducing live shopping options in videos that brands broadcast live via Facebook and Instagram. Sellers can pre-select the products they are going to show in the live stream and they will then appear at the bottom of the screen so viewers can order these shown items right away.