Understanding Facebook Shops

Facebook announced yesterday that they are introducing Facebook Shops, a free tool allowing merchants to turn their Facebook and Instagram pages into customized online stores. A shopping tab will live in tandem with the activity tab, placing a focus on online commerce for business pages. This is a game changer for merchants as Facebook moves into direct competition with Amazon.

Online shops can be easily created on Facebook and Instagram business pages, and merchants can utilize their shipping, inventory and fulfillment features. Shops will soon be able to be featured in Instagram stories, which can serve as a major boost to both online merchants and influencers alike, as the story post to checkout process becomes completely streamlined.

The social media giant also announced that they have teamed up with Shopify, BigCommerce, WooCommerce and ChannelAdvisor. This will allow merchants to manage their products, inventory, orders and fulfillment and checkout in their eCommerce platform as they currently do, while customizing their own shopping experience for Facebook and Instagram where shoppers will be able to find and browse products.

Facebook Shops will soon be integrated with their chat platforms, Messenger and What’s App, and Instagram DMs. Consumers will be able to browse online catalogs and purchase directly within a chat thread.

Facebook began rolling out Shops in the United States yesterday and this will continue over the next month. Facebook announced that Instagram Shops will begin rolling out this summer.

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