Back in July Facebook announced it was testing digital storefronts and buy buttons. Facebook has recently partnered with Shopify to create digital storefronts and The Shop has been launched.
The Shop allows merchants to display products on their Business Page. Retailers have two options, they can allow Facebook users to purchase products directly in Facebook or they can redirect shoppers to their online store or app, either option can be linked to the buy button.
Merchants can sign-up for their own online store through Shopify. Simply upload a photo of the item you want to sell and add a description, then set a price. Once completed, Shopify automatically sets up a store on your Facebook Business Page.
While Facebook has been offering store apps already, those features do not work with mobile devices. With 526 million of its monthly active users accessing Facebook from their mobile devices (TechCrunch), it was necessary to create a mobile ready feature for retailers.
Also, current store apps add a new tab to the Business Page, which is not very easy to access on mobile devices. The new digital feature puts the storefront right on the merchant’s main Business Page. This makes it a lot easier for users to view products and use the storefront feature to shop on mobile devices.
Payment processing is handled by Shopify. Shoppers do not need to worry about having credit card numbers saved without permission, though there is an option to store it for future purchases if users choose this option.
The feature on Facebook is “free and available to all Shopify merchants globally over the coming weeks.” (Shopify) Though businesses not signed up with Shopify will have to create an account, pricing plans range from $9 a month to $179 a month. They are currently offering a 14-day free trial.
While not completely available to all at this time, Facebook will be rolling out the feature to everyone in the next few weeks.
See how easy it is to use the new shopping feature in Facebook here.