It was only a matter of time. Mark Zuckerberg has turned the negative of Coronavirus into a positive by bringing small business owners Facebook Shops. It’s a big push into e-commerce for the company, one which may have been on the roadmap in the future but has found it’s place right here and now. With businesses being able to set up storefronts for free on Facebook and Instagram, they’ll be able to target new and existing customers and make sales without customers leaving the app.
Record Online Sales
It’s no surprise that the global pandemic of Covid-19 has made more people shop online. That is why there has been records tumbling all over the place. Shoppers have been buying more on websites and getting orders delivered. With so many businesses struggling in the ‘real’ world, the appeal of opening online shops has grown. Zuckerberg’s reaction to this is of importance, to support those businesses in this way. Bringing more businesses online in an easy way is a great initiative. It could certainly help people who have fallen through the government support net.
The Facebook Shops Idea
The main idea is to bring more small local businesses online in order to help them through this troubling time. Obviously, if things do get sorted out in terms of pandemics and health systems, these online versions of shops will be an extension of their offering. This is definitely a good thing. Shops will be free to set up but Facebook will make money via adverts, payments and other services. There’s plenty of opportunity for business owners and Facebook to make this a huge success. Facebook Shops can be found on Facebook Pages and Instagram profiles. You’ll even be able to shop live streams! This is stuff of the shopping future and the future is now!
All In One Place
The idea behind Facebook Shops is to allow you to shop whilst within the social network. Keeping people on the platform is good for Zuckerberg. It helps businesses sell directly from the website where a lot of people spend their scrolling time. Users will be able to store payment details in one place. This means they can easily buy things from any Facebook of Instagram storefront. There are over 160 million small businesses using the functions of the Facebook and Instagram apps. This means great potential for finding new customers and taking easier transactions.
Your Future On Facebook
I’ve written about how you need to adapt in order to survive in business. The last few months have been the perfect examples of this. We cannot get into a rut whilst running our companies. We must tailor our approach in order to meet the needs of the customer. Allowing customers to buy your products with the least amount of clicks possible is key. Having an extension of your website or your bricks and mortar shop on one of the worlds biggest and most visits platforms could be critical for your success. Maybe in the future you won’t even need your own website. With third party software like Shopify and BigCommerce powering Facebook Shops, we’ll be sure of great experience.
