Facebook has started rolling out the Facebook shop tab on its App. The company had announced that they were working on the feature when they unveiled a shopping tab on Instagram in July. The feature will enable small businesses to sell their products on Facebook.
The social media platform has developed Facebook shops with the aim of creating a marketplace for small businesses on the app which previously did not have a storefront.
Most marketing pages on Facebook list catalogues of their products but to shop, clients are often redirected to external e-commerce websites where they can place their orders and checkout. In other instances, clients have to call, place their orders and complete the transaction offline.
Facebook shops will now make it easier for businesses to advertise their products and allow clients to shop for the product immediately.
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Facebook AI team has developed the feature to include various categories for brands including the name, colour, design and style. This will make it easier for clients to filter and search their desired products.
The company is also introducing new tools to help businesses customize their pages on Shops.
There will be a new layout to customize single or groups of products, a new insight page and a real-time preview of collections design.
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The app is also including a checkout feature on Instagram and Facebook shops for shoppers in the US. Checkout allows clients to complete the transaction without leaving the app. It also remembers your payment information and delivery/collection details.
Facebook is also making it possible for shoppers to chat with businesses through Facebook Messenger, Instagram Direct Messaging or WhatsApp. The company is currently testing the function on Messenger and Instagram Direct and an option for Whatsapp at a later date.
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Facebook conducted its own study that determined that about 85 per cent of people worldwide are shopping online due to the Covid-19 pandemic. A lot of brands have social media presence especially on Facebook and Instagram and introducing a shopping option is a major win for the company.
Facebook recently partnered with Reliance Jio in India to allow people to order their groceries through Whatsapp.
The new shopping features will be rolled out in the US followed by a global rollout of the same.
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