Facebook is rolling out new ecommerce tools and expanding Shops to WhatsApp and Marketplace as it tries to build the “largest shoppable social media platform”.
As part of an update to its online shopping, businesses in select countries will soon be able to showcase their Shop in WhatsApp. In the US businesses will also be able to bring Shops products into Marketplace, which Facebook says reaches more than 1 billion people globally each month.
Facebook is also introducing new AR and AI tools to improve the online shopping experience for users. A new visual discovery tool on Instagram will help shoppers find new products by tapping on an image of an item they like. Facebook is also planning new tools that will let people take photos to start a visual search. A new AR “try-on” tool will let people try on items through their camera lens before they purchase them.
Facebook Shops
The investment in Facebook Shops comes after the ecommerce boom during the pandemic, which saw Facebook ramp up its Shops roll out last year.
Facebook says it now has more than 300 million monthly Shops visitors and over 1.2 million monthly active Shops. Facebook expects this trend to grow, with 32% of shoppers globally saying they plan to spend less time in-store after the pandemic is over, and almost 74% saying they get shopping ideas from Facebook, Instagram, Messenger or WhatsApp.
The new tools won’t initially be available locally, but will be expanded to Australia in the future.
“Instagram and Facebook are a new Westfield,” says Facebook Australia director of retail Kate Box.
“We are making the online shopping journey more personalised, more entertaining, and more seamless. Capabilities like shoppable media, branded content, social shopping and messenger for customer service are available in Australia.
“As today’s announcements scale globally, AI and AR will further evolve how customers discover products they love. Australian’s will be able to find products online, with visual search and try-on immersive experiences available before making a purchase. Shopping across our platforms is brimming with new innovation."
Facebook also wants to improve personalised ads for online shopping. New Shops ads solutions will provide unique ad experiences based on people’s shopping preferences. For example, Facebook is testing the ability for businesses to send shoppers to where they are most likely to make a purchase based on their shopping behaviour, such as curated products they might be interested in from a Shop or a business’ website.
In the future, Facebook wants to allow brands to personalise their Shops ads by providing special offers or promotions to select shoppers.
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