In an effort to help struggling small businesses in COVID-19 times, Facebook has announced a major eCommerce move today that sees the launch of Facebook Shops. Facebook has introduced shops to help set up a single online store for customers to access on both Facebook and Instagram. This is the latest effort from Facebook in its strategy to unify its platforms and comes after recently launching group video chat software with Messenger Rooms that will also come to all of its services.
The launch of outlets comes as stay-at-home orders associated with the Coronavirus pandemic have led to record sales for e-commerce companies. The pandemic has also been overwhelming for small businesses. One-third of them report that they need to stop business operations during a survey conducted by Facebook. An additional 11% say they could fail within the next three months if the current situation continues. But online sales are a bright spot for small businesses.
Creating a Facebook Shop is free and simple. Small businesses can choose the products they want to feature from their catalogue and then customise the look and feel of their shop with a cover image and accent colours that showcase their brand. Any seller, regardless of their size or budget, can bring their small business online and connect with customers wherever and whenever it’s convenient for them. Facebook wanted to give people a place to experience the joy of shopping versus the chore of buying. And they want to help small businesses adapt and make it easier for people to discover and shop for things they love.
Shops are often found on small businesses’ Facebook pages and Instagram profiles, and they also can appear in stories or be promoted in ads. Items that companies have made available for purchase will appear within the shop, and users can either save items or place an order.
If you purchase in Shops with Facebook Pay on Facebook or with checkout on Instagram, Facebook will collect information to help complete your purchase, such as the payment method, transaction date, billing, shipping and contact details. They will securely store and encrypt your payment card numbers.
While Facebook Shops is being unrolled from Wednesday, the corporate will introduce Instagram Shop. Buy products in Instagram Explore, this summer, starting within the US. The social networking giant also announced to invest in features across its family of apps to inspire people to shop and make buying and selling online easier.
In order to support small businesses, Facebook has decided to work with partners like WooCommerce, Fedonomics, Shopify, CedCommerce, Cafe24, ChannelAdvisor and Tienda Nube. While Shops are liberal to create, they might create significant new business opportunities for Facebook in advertising, payments, and other services. Small businesses are going to be ready to buy ads for his or her Shops, and when people use Facebook’s checkout option, it charges them a fee.
FAQs:
- Is a Facebook shop free?
Facebook is liberal to join and there are not any fees for selling either, so it’s extremely low-risk and since numerous folks use the social network anyway for keeping up with friends and family, it’s easy to get to grip with.
- Do you need a business license to sell on Facebook?
Like any other advertising medium, you need a business licence to sell on Facebook.
- How much does a Facebook shop cost?
With Facebook Shops, you’ll sell directly through Facebook, even accepting credit cards through Stripe for a 2.9% + $0.30 transactional fee.
