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Facebook Shops Opens For Small Businesses

Written by Contributor, on 4th Jun 2020. Posted in General

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With the global economy still struggling, most small and medium-sized businesses have been decimated. According to a survey done earlier in April, a third of these businesses in the U.S don’t think they’ll ever be able to reopen. Fortunately, social media company, Facebook has vowed to come to the rescue by helping these businesses to not only advertise products of their platform, but also sell them.

In a live stream, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained why e-commerce is important in the process of rebuilding the economy amid the ongoing crisis. According to Zuckerberg, while it may not be wise to open stores and restaurants to the public, business owners should still be able to take orders online and have them shipped. The CEO believes this move will highly support small businesses that have never had an online presence get to the internet for the first time.

As people continue observing the social distancing orders, sales recorded by e-commerce companies are expected to continue soaring this year. However, small businesses have been devastated greatly this year, and most owners might be forced to close down if things don’t change in the next three months permanently. Fortunately, online sales might be exactly what small businesses need to thrive.

Facebook believes that by taking advantage of this top small business trend, local businesses can be able to endure the harsh economic condition. That will also create huge business opportunities for Facebook, though creating shops will be free. Nonetheless, the platform will make money by facilitating payments, advertising, and other services.

Businesses will have the ability to buy ads for their local shops, and Facebook will charge people a fee when they use their checkout option. Zuckerberg also says that shops will have an improved web commerce experience by allowing users to store their payment credentials in one place that they can easily access from the Facebook or Instagram storefront.

Currently, over 160 million small businesses are using Facebook. The shops can be found on the platform’s business pages and Instagram profiles. They can also be promoted as ads of appear in stories. Additionally, items that businesses have listed for sale will appear in the shop, and users can either place an order or save items.

Businesses can take care of their customer support issues through WhatsApp, Instagram, or Messenger. The company also plans to let the users browse store catalogs and directly buy items from the chat window. Additionally, Facebook is planning to enable shopping from live streams to allow creators and brands to be able to tag items from their catalogs so they can appear at the bottom of live videos.

Facebook is also in the process of integrating loyalty programs with the shops, and the users will be able to view and keep track of their rewards and points easily. The company has been trying to dab into e-commerce for years, starting with its peer-to-peer marketplace introduced in their app in 2016. Instagram also started working on a shopping app two years later, though the project was later abandoned. 

In the U.S., shops already started rolling out on Facebook, and they’ll also be able to use the new feature on Instagram sometime in the summer. However, Instagram will continue showcasing brands in their existing shop account, which highlights products available for sale. However, there will be a dedicated shopping tab in the navigation tab later this year.

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