Culture
Facebook debuts new Shop section so you can waste more money you don't have
Almost broke? Doesn't matter. Facebook is expanding its marketplace.
Facebook is expanding its e-commerce side by introducing a Facebook Shop option in its app. The company made the announcement on its official blog, noting that online shopping has skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic. The company estimates that, despite the overwhelming guilt people feel right now, 85 percent of consumers around the globe have turned to e-marketplaces for retail and other options. If economists and psychologists could collaborate and explain this phenomenon, we'd appreciate it.
"We want to make shopping easier for people and empower anyone, from an entrepreneur to the largest brand, to use our apps to connect with customers and grow their business," the company stated. "That’s why we’re creating new ways for people to shop on our apps and providing tools to help businesses sell online."
Your brand new storefront — Businesses will now have a chance to showcase their products through the Facebook app. If you're interested, all you have to do is head over to the top right of the app, click on the additional options, and you'll see more shops to browse through. This could help small businesses win more attention and exposure by introducing products through the app but it's not clear if Facebook has a commission rate around its new e-commerce solution.
From here on out, Facebook will produce a "real time preview" of products as they are being designed. It also says that you can create your own shop through the app and gain metrics-based insights about your business through the Commerce Manager.
Instagram, your enhanced merchant — If you're already active on Instagram, you'll notice that the network offers shops and businesses the ability to showcase price, discounts, and other details about a variety of products. Especially when it comes to apparel and makeup products, Instagram enjoys a crowded consumer base. This is going to get even more commercial, according to Facebook, as Instagram will now have a checkout option baked in the app. "To use checkout, businesses must have Shops and use Facebook Commerce Manager or our partners Shopify and BigCommerce. We’ll support more platform partners soon," the company explained.
Added incentive — Given that the pandemic economy has destroyed millions of jobs and tanked scores of businesses, Facebook has attempted to make its e-commerce expansion a little softer on small business owners. According to the company, it will waive selling fees for businesses through the end of 2020.
In other words, Facebook gave its marketplace a facelift. Our advice, though, is that you should probably save that money for a better investment. Maybe consider paying for a Google skills certificate.
