Facebook is making another major play in the retail space by piloting ecommerce offers within retailers’ brand pages on the site.
The shops within Facebook Pages are currently being tested and some of the trials already include a ‘buy’ button on the page, according to BuzzFeed.
The move is designed to allow the entire shopping experience to happen within Facebook, from product discovery right through to checkout.
Facebook’s trial comes shortly after web rival Google revealed it was allowing retailers to introduce a ‘buy’ button into its search ads and YouTube videos.
Facebook’s previous ventures into ecommerce have fallen flat. In April 2011 games specialist GameStop opened a Facebook store before closing it down six months later following poor traffic and customers’ preferring its standalone ecommerce site.
Other retailers, including Gap, J.C. Penney and Nordstrom have also opened and closed Facebook storefronts.
Facebook product marketing manager Emma Rodgers told BuzzFeed: “With the shop section on the page, we’re now providing businesses with the ability to showcase their products directly on the page.”
She added the shops being trialled number in the double digits, but she refused to name any of the businesses piloting the programme.
On mobile, Facebook is displaying the shops underneath the standard toolbar and about section. There will not be a search component to begin with.
Facebook is not taking a cut of the sales, but is hoping that the purchase data generated from the initiative will attract more advertisers and boost revenue.
Rogers added: “We’ll continue to add incremental features and capabilities to Pages because they are such an important part of the consumer experience on Facebook.”
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