Facebook introduces its new E-Commerce Feature

Announced last Thursday by Facebook is the introduction of the new e-commerce feature which will be integrated through their existing advertising with the addition of a 'Buy' button. 

Facebook believe that it won’t only help merchants in eliminating one extra click for conversion, but also will benefit users making it easier for them to search and find products that are popular in their friend’s lists. Facebook believe this will help increase sales and encourage more merchants to turn to Facebook advertising.

The major difference with this new feature is that instead of directing the user to the merchant’s website, Facebook will manage the purchase within the same interface. A third party processer will take care of the payments so that none of the credit or debit card information people share with Facebook will be shared with the advertisers themselves. There will also be privacy options so that you can choose whether you want to save your payment details for any future purchases.

Whilst this feature is new, Facebook have tried something similar in 2012, where they launched a virtual store. This was eventually removed due to lack of interest, however this new in-app purchase might perform much better as it’s an extension of their existing advertising on the News Feed.

Twitter also did something similar last month where a ‘Buy’ button appeared and Amazon allowed also users to add items to their cart via Tweets earlier in the year.  

Currently it's being tested out with small to medium businesses in the US. 

Get your head around it for your website.