Facebook introduces new feature that may promote social commerce among its users
Facebook has been working to successfully monetize itself in recent years, and a focus solely on marketing is not doing the trick. While Facebook has become a very prominent and attractive platforms for advertisers, mobile commerce could soon become a very powerful revenue stream. In order to engage its massive mobile audience, Facebook has begun testing a new “Buy” service in order to promote social commerce.
Social commerce continues to grow in prominence as mobile consumers become a dominant demographic
Social commerce has become a very popular aspect of mobile shopping. Social media platforms, like Facebook, are beginning to make shopping online a primarily social experience. Shoppers can easily share the products that they find online with their contacts on various media platforms. This sharing increases product exposure, and social commerce has begun a viable way to passively market products by having consumers share their finds in an easy manner.
Mobile commerce could represent a significant revenue stream for Facebook
Facebook is expected to account for 7.8% of digital ad spending this year. While Facebook is a prominent advertising platform, it believes that mobile commerce will have a more profound impact on its revenue stream in the coming years. The Buy service that the company is testing is the first step in establishing a more prominent presence in the mobile commerce space. As one of the world’s largest social media platforms, Facebook may be able to make social commerce a more mainstream concept.
Buy service will be available to a limited number of users until it proves it can be successful
The Buy service will allow Facebook users to quickly purchase products that they find through the social media platform. A Buy button will appear at the bottom of sponsored advertisements, and this button can be clicked to initiate a purchase. The new service may be particularly popular among mobile users because of its convenient design. The button will only show up for a limited number of Facebook users, but if it is successful, the social media company plans to expand its availability in the coming months.
Currently, the iTunes Pass service is designed to serve as a replacement for physical gift cards. Digital versions of these gift cards can be stored in the Passbook application, which is Apple’s version of a mobile wallet. Gift cards stored in Passbook can be accessed by iTunes Pass, allowing those that own these gift card the ability to use them to purchase goods from Apple’s digital stores.