Will Facebook change eCommerce?
Facebook has become more than a social network, it is also a place to shop, especially as more brands are placing product listings on their Facebook pages.
Facebook attracts a huge amount of web traffic, with an audience of literally hundreds of millions which is growing daily. Online retailers cannot ignore this base of potential customers. The smart ones are not, and are already finding ways to integrate social media marketing into their marketing mix.
It's quite simple really. Online shopping and social networking sites are growing rapidly in popularity. These two go hand in hand, people like to shop and socialise online. The question is how will you integrate these two?
We expect to see more and more product listing applications for Facebook come into play. These applications will not just focus on merchants but also shoppers as well. And as shoppers become more comfortable purchasing via mobile devices, this trend is likely to continue its rapid growth.
Usually these shopping applications allow a merchant to operate a store on Facebook, and purchases made are tied to their own site. However, Facebook has its own virtual currency, which may become more popular in the future.
It doesn't stop there, does this type of popularity mean that Facebook will challenge, and possibly threaten, search engines as the most preferred way to find products?
No matter what happens one thing is crystal clear, the interactive nature of Facebook makes an integration with Facebook a weapon to add to your online arsenal that works in conjunction with your existing online store.
