Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) is attempting to expand its market share of the e-commerce sector with the expansion if its Shops product. Shops was launched earlier in the year, alongside Instagram Checkout, a similar product.
Shops was announced on Tuesday on Facebook's "about Facebook" website. According to the release, shops will "make it easy for people to find products from businesses they love."
"During the COVID-19 pandemic, the shift to online shopping has rapidly accelerated, with an estimated 85% of people worldwide now shopping online. We want to make shopping easier for people and empower anyone, from an entrepreneur to the largest brand, to use our apps to connect with customers and grow their business. That's why we're creating new ways for people to shop on our apps and providing tools to help businesses sell online." Facebook said.
Users will be able to discover businesses and make transactions from the app in typical e-commerce fashion. Where Shops shines is in what it offers to sellers, businesses will be able to be discovered both through Facebook and Instagram. When integrated with Facebook's robust advertising platform and the social media presence, many companies, and small private businesses already have, businesses will be able to connect with customers more efficiently.
Shops will become integrated with the Facebook mobile app, becoming its own tab within the app's UI. Facebook Shops boasts a range of customization options as well as tools to measure the results of the store page. Users will also be able to message stores much in the same way that they are with regular business pages.
Parallel to the shops expansion is Instagram Checkout, which allows businesses to sell products directly from their Instagram accounts. Instagram Checkout's initial rollout has been relatively limited, only being available on mobile and only being demonstrated with featured businesses so far. Anything purchased on Instagram carries purchase protection, which will allow users to refund an order if they didn't receive it, the product was damaged, the product was different from what was advertised, or the vendor didn't follow their own refund policy.