Facebook Makes an Ecommerce Push With Shops for Facebook and Instagram

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In response to the current climate, Facebook introduced Shops last week. Since fewer people are purchasing in-store, Facebook Shops allows customers to buy products directly from brands online. Retailers ought to take advantage of social media’s presence in consumer’s lives by using relevant tools to complement their ecommerce strategy. This new digital storefront may allow some businesses to interact with consumers, build their presence online, and adapt to the current business landscape.

Source: Facebook

What are Facebook and Instagram Shops?

Shops provide a way for brands to create a seamless shopping experience by allowing customers to discover their products on Facebook and Instagram. Facebook users can easily find those businesses that choose to use the Shops storefront. Your online shop will be visible in a variety of areas so consumers can remain in the app to browse, shop, and complete the checkout process. Customers can find Shops on your:

• Facebook page or Instagram profile

• Tagged Posts

• Ads

• Stories

No matter their size or budget, any seller can take advantage of all of the benefits that Facebook and Instagram Shops offer. Be sure to consult your digital marketing experts to understand how Shops fits your overall advertising approach.

• It’s free and easy to set up

• Customers can access the online store on Facebook and Instagram

• Products can be featured from their catalog

• The cover image and accent colors are customizable for branding

• It may be a strong fit for small businesses, and we continue to evaluate its effectiveness for larger brands

Source: Facebook

Shops can offer visibility and versatility to both business owners and consumers by bringing shopping fully into the social media experience. Shops may make it easier for small brands to establish themselves and sell, especially if they don’t have a seamless ecommerce experience on their website. For larger retail brands, we remain cautiously curious and will keep an eye on the product roll-outs over the next few weeks or months. It remains unclear how Facebook will measure performance against paid advertising, but we see it as a benefit to ease the purchase experience for customers.

Staying in Touch With Your Customers

Customer service is also integrated into the Shops experience. As more people want to interact with brands, Facebook has taken steps to facilitate communication and commerce in one place. The platform’s shopping experience will make it possible to message businesses from the shop listings using Facebook Messenger, Instagram Direct, and WhatsApp.

Source: Facebook

Within the messenger stream, customers will soon be able to view the shop, make purchases, ask questions, and even track packages. Shops is accessible throughout the Facebook and Instagram app. It offers a viable solution when you want people to learn about your brand and products and lead them from discovery through checkout.

What You Need to Know About Shop Builder

Shop Builder is a platform that becomes an extension of the Facebook Page tools. The builder offers the ability to upload product listings one-by-one or connect with an ecommerce provider, such as WooCommerce, Shopify, or others, to link an existing catalog.

Who Gets Access to Shops?

As of May 19, Facebook has announced its next steps into ecommerce by launching “Shops” on Facebook and Instagram. Invitations are currently rolling out to businesses that sell with Instagram Shopping, a Facebook Page Shop, or both. Over the next few months, it will be available for eligible companies around the globe.

Businesses that are currently using Facebook or Instagram Shops can start using the new feature now. If you’re not yet eligible, you will receive an email with an invitation that has Commerce Manager instructions to customize your digital storefront when it is available. Until then, small businesses that have not begun to think about improving their ecommerce strategy can start to build a Facebook page. Then, if you decide to use Shops, everything is set up for your brand to reach your customers on Facebook and Instagram.

What Facebook and Instagram Shops Mean for You

Facebook usage is up considerably, with approximately 2.6 billion active users around the globe. Facebook is the largest social network, and Instagram isn’t too far behind with 1 billion active users. By taking advantage of the platform’s offerings, you have the opportunity to grow your audience. You could potentially sell products faster and more effectively using Shops than an ecommerce site alone.

Ecommerce platforms offer a lot of tools to businesses, but Facebook Shops are beneficial in their own way. Some brands will use both side-by-side, offering multiple shopping channels to consumers. Online stores need to have versatility so that they can reach customers where they are and, in many instances, that is now on social media.

Start Reaching Your Customers With Shops

With new Facebook and Instagram Shops, brands can benefit from more visibility and flexibility to achieve success. Effective digital marketing is about knowing where to reach people where they already are in the customer journey. Embracing different forms of ecommerce can help you to reach new markets and expand exponentially. 

At Adlucent, we’re here to help you with the right cross-channel digital marketing strategy for your business. Talk to our experts today to better connect to the customers who matter most.

Olga Rangel