This week Facebook announced Facebook Shops, which it describes as "a mobile-first shopping experience where businesses can easily create an online store on Facebook and Instagram . . ."
Businesses will be able to create a Facebook Shop for free and upload their catalog, product pictures, and details like prices, delivery terms, etc. Customers can then browse and order products.
Some store examples are illustrated below.
Facebook is going to charge a small fee for each sale, but they say their primary revenue model for Stores is advertising.
Facebook is working with commerce partners like Shopify, BigCommerce, ChannelAdvisor, and others so small businesses can integrate their current backend and logistical systems with the Stores application.
Facebook had already ventured into the commerce arena with Marketplace, which mostly is a Craigslist competitor. Shops is, obviously, a move upmarket into the traditional small business space and into competition with eBay and Amazon.
Millions of small businesses actively use Facebook for marketing and advertising and we've often wondered why they didn't have a service like Stores.
Now they do.
