Digital economy Facebook presents 'Facebook Stores', its great commitment to 'ecommerce' to compete with Amazon Tags

It is launched today and will be rolled out in the coming months.

The interest of Mark Zuckerberg's company in online sales has been evident for some time. In this growing market, Facebook timidly entered a few years ago, but little by little it has shown its intention to become strong as one more player in ecommerce. In fact, a month ago, the social network announced the acquisition of 9.99% of the Indian telecom company Jio Platforms, with the clear objective of promoting an alliance that would allow it to bet on online sales through WhatsApp.

Example of a baby clothes business on Facebook Stores.

As part of this e-commerce strategy, the founder of Facebook has announced on his social network profile the launch of Stores on Facebook, a new functionality to "make it easier for companies to create a single online store where customers can Access both Facebook and Instagram". In other words, a platform to be able to buy online without having to leave Facebook or Instagram.

"Our goal is to make shopping seamless and enable anyone, from a small business owner to a global brand, to use our apps to connect with their customers. That's why we launched Facebook Shops and are investing in new features across our apps." that inspire people when buying and facilitate online buying and selling processes", says the American giant.

Facebook thus allows any business to create a virtual store within its platform, allowing users to purchase items without leaving the social network. To do this, they claim to offer a very simple and free process. Companies can choose the products they want to present from their catalog and customize the look of their online store. "This means that any seller, regardless of their size or budget, can build their business and connect with their customers wherever and whenever it's convenient for them."

The new functionality of Facebook still does not have a specific date of arrival in Spain. "We're only in the early stages of launch, but over the next few months people around the world will be able to find this new product on a business's Facebook page or Instagram profile, or discover it through stories or ads", explains Irene Cano, General Manager of Facebook Iberia.

Screen for creating and customizing a store in Shops on Facebook.

Integration with Instagram and Whatsapp

Despite the fact that in an initial stage it seemed that Facebook was letting each of its brands fly free, for a few months the social network has changed its strategy and has stamped the Facebook seal on its other two big companies: Whatsapp and Instagram.

Now, with Shops on Facebook, it materializes this integration in a joint project, since purchases from Facebook Shops can also be made on Instagram, through Shops on Instagram.

Example of purchases in a Facebook or Instgram story.

The new Instagram e-commerce will be available from the summer in the United States and will allow users to purchase products in online stores created by businesses on the social network itself, as well as on Facebook.

Likewise, the social network does not forget its stories, one of the great successes of Instagram and Facebook, and will allow access to specific articles from these short 15-second videos. Soon, sellers, brands, and creators will be able to tag products from their Facebook store or catalog before posting, and those products will show up at the bottom of the video so people can easily tap to learn more and buy. We're starting to test this with businesses on Facebook and Instagram, and will roll it out more widely in the coming months."

To complete this joint commitment, Facebook ensures that the use of its platform will be similar to being in a physical store thanks to contact via messaging with the dependents or the owner in case you need help. To do this, the network indicates that in purchases in Facebook Shops "you can send messages to a business through WhatsApp, Messenger or Instagram Direct to ask questions, get assistance, track deliveries and much more. And in the future , you will be able to see a business store and make purchases directly in a chat on WhatsApp, Messenger or Instagram Direct".

Mark Zuckerberg's company claims to be working more closely with partners like Shopify, BigCommerce, Woo, Channel Advisor, CedCommerce, Cafe24, Tienda Nube and Feedonomics to give SMEs the support they need. "These organizations offer powerful tools to help entrepreneurs start and run their businesses and move online. They will now help small businesses build and grow their Facebook Shops and use our other commerce tools."

What happens with the current purchase systems on Instagram and Facebook?

According to the company, "at launch, we will test with a limited number of businesses. Businesses with a store profile on Instagram and/or a store visible on their Facebook page will automatically become Stores."

The social network ensures that Shops on Facebook is a tool that is easier to use and configure, easy to use, faster in relation to a mobile website and global in scale. "Stores give sellers control over personalization and merchandising."