Tag: e-commerce news

Facebook continues pushing into the e-commerce space

| August 19, 2015

Social media company hopes to find success with latest e-commerce initiative

Facebook is moving forward with its latest push into the e-commerce space. The social media company has had trouble in this sector before, as its previous e-commerce projects have proven to have little impact and failed to attract support from consumers. Facebook may have found a way to effectively engage consumers, however, with its new shopping feature that it has begun testing with a small number of merchants.

Merchants will be able to sell products directly through Facebook

With Facebook’s latest attempt to break into the e-commerce space, brands will be able to display their products on their Facebook page. Consumers will be able to find information about these products and make a purchase without having to leave the page itself, making digital shopping more convenient. This is not a new concept for Facebook, of course, as it first began inviting brands to use the social media site as their business gateway in 2009.

Company’s previous e-commerce endeavors have failed

e-commerce & facebookBy 2011, Facebook had convinced several large companies, including Nordstrom and GameStop, to open digital stores on the social media site. Through these stores, the brands would sell products, but consumers would be directed to a dedicated e-commerce site operated by the merchant they were purchasing products from. The initiative proved to be fruitless, however, as merchants saw no significant increase in sales or engagement. The companies participating in the initiative closed their digital stores on Facebook within a year.

Social media companies see great promise in the e-commerce space

Facebook is not the only social media company that is trying to find success in the e-commerce space. Twitter and Pinterest have also begun experimenting with “buy” buttons, with their focus leaning more toward mobile consumers interested in shopping online. Even search giant Google is focusing more heavily on the e-commerce space, giving merchants a way to sell products directly through display ads. These companies have, thus far, seen limited success in their endeavors, but they have high hopes for the e-commerce space, especially when it comes to the number of growing mobile shoppers.

Apple updates its e-commerce store

| August 12, 2015

Apple has introduced buy buttons in its digital store

Apple has made a change to its online store in order to foster growth in mobile shopping. For several years, Apple has kept product information separate from commerce. Those interested in purchasing products, such as an iPhone, would have to visit a different website, which served as Apple’s digital store. Now, however, Apple has introduced “buy” buttons, which will make e-commerce more streamlined and give Apple a way to provide convenient services to consumers.

Change will be more accommodating of mobile consumers with smartphones and tablets

The change comes as Apple becomes more aware that consumers want to explore, research, and shop for products in one place. Having to visit multiple different sites when trying to purchase and research products is seen as inconvenient, so Apple unified the process by including a buy button that will allow shoppers to make a purchase quickly. Streamlining the process could help Apple establish a stronger foothold in the e-commerce space, especially as the company continues to expand into the world of mobile payments.

Apple remains slow when updating its e-commerce store

e-commerce - Apple Apple has been quite slow in redesigning its e-commerce platforms. The company’s digital store is one of the most frequently visited websites in the world, and a significant amount of this traffic comes from mobile shoppers. Despite, this, the company has seen little need to make any significant changes to the website, even when it debuted the Apple Watch, which was only available online.

Updated store will be more convenient for mobile consumers than its previous iteration as Apple begins to focus more on mobile payments

One of the reasons Apple has made a change to its online store is because it was not optimized for mobile viewing. This made it difficult for mobile consumers to use the store and purchase products that they found interesting. Now, the store is more capable of handling a mobile audience and Apple is likely to continue making adjustments to its approach on e-commerce in order to accommodate those using smartphones and tablets to shop online.