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Performance Marketing

Facebook Shops Connects Brands to Commerce

June 9, 2020 | by Daniel Morris
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Facebook Shops allows small and large businesses to market their products to customers that are actively engaging with their brands online. We run it down.

On May 19, Tuesday, Facebook announced Facebook Shops, a new native shopping portal that will be available on Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. On Facebook’s Newsroom PR portal, Facebook cited their recent small business report and the effects of the global health pandemic as strong motivations for developing a unified shopping platform. Facebook Shops will allow both small and large businesses to market their products to customers that are actively engaging with their brands online.

How Facebook Shops Works

Facebook Shops will allow businesses to organize product collections in Facebook using Facebook Commerce Manager to upload products individually, or by uploading an XML file containing their products downloaded from a supported e-commerce platform.

When users arrive at a business’s shop through Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp, they will be able to view uploaded product collections; and when it comes time to make a purchase, the user will be brought to the brand’s e-commerce website to finalize the purchase with supported partners like WooCommerce, Shopify, BigCommerce, or others. However, brands that take advantage of Facebook’s Checkout feature are able to finalize purchases made in the shop without users ever needing to leave the social media platform they’re browsing in.

Shops Isn’t the Only Way to Do E-Commerce on Facebook

It’s easy to be overwhelmed by all the different ways Facebook has tried to tap into the e-commerce market. Previously, Facebook had individual shopping platforms available on Facebook Pages, called Facebook Page Shops, as well as the Instagram Shopping feature rolled out to select businesses on Instagram. Not to mention Facebook Marketplace, Facebook’s product listing platform/Craigslist alternative that also allows for retail e-commerce integration for U.S.-based businesses.

In an email to Facebook marketing partners, Facebook had this to say on the difference between Facebook Shops and Marketplace:

Q: Will Shops be integrated with Marketplace? How does Shops differ from Marketplace?

A: Shops and Facebook Marketplace are two separate products. While Shops is a storefront on your Facebook Page featuring your products, Marketplace is a surface where your products can get distribution outside of your Shop. To learn about listing on Marketplace, see here.

Although Facebook started rolling out Shops functionality on May 19 to businesses who sell with Instagram Shopping or Facebook Page Shops, their press release states that the feature will become more widely available in the coming months.

If you are interested in opening a Facebook Shop, Facebook suggests you get started with Instagram Shopping (or other shopping opportunities on Facebook), and you’ll receive an email when your brand is ready to activate the latest Shops features.

Facebook Faces Increased Competition

As one of the largest tech companies in the United States Facebook is facing increasing competition in the online shopping and e-commerce space. It is no accident that the Facebook Shops announcement comes only a few weeks after Google announced any business owner will be able list their inventory in Google’s Shopping platform for free. Previously, Google Shopping was a Pay-To-Play space, requiring advertisers pay for ad placement on the service. But due to the impact on small businesses stemming from COVID19, Google’s president of commerce told The Verge, “We think that by doing this … it also helps bring some quite needed relief to the retail and small business ecosystem.”

For owners of small, retail-focused businesses, Facebook Shops should make it easier than ever before to market your products organically through Facebook. And for larger brands, there has never been a better time to get involved with Facebook’s e-commerce features. The most benefit will be seen by brands with an active and popular social media user base.

Although it hasn’t been detailed yet, Facebook is sure to announce deeper integration between the new Facebook Shops platform and Facebook Ads. Facebook already allows select businesses to create ads for Marketplace, and the additional product management features that will come along with Facebook Shops should only make it easier to run your entire e-commerce operation out of Facebook-owned platforms.

What Businesses Should Do

If you’re looking to position your brand as a major e-commerce player on Facebook, it’s never been more important to make sure your Facebook advertising efforts are earning you the results you’re looking for. Since Facebook began limiting the organic reach of businesses and pages on its platform in early 2018, brands and agencies alike have been searching for ways to game the system and earn unwarranted organic followings; but Facebook’s message remains consistent: If you want to promote your business on Facebook, you need to spend money.

If you’re ready to level-up your e-commerce efforts on Facebook or elsewhere, visit us online today. As qualified Facebook Marketing Partners, our team at IDX is ready to help you guide your digital marketing efforts.