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Facebook launches platform for online shops

Facebook wants to become the platform for online trading – and with its huge reach and technical strengths it could stir up business.

Retailers can now easily create online shops that use Facebook and Instagram are reachable.

There is also “Live Shopping”: the opportunity to sell goods in a video livestream. Germany is among the first countries in which Facebook shops have been set up since Tuesday evening.

The project is primarily intended to help smaller companies survive the corona crisis, said Facebook’s founder and boss Mark Zuckerberg the German press agency. “It’s something I’ve been interested in for a while, but when Covid-19 came out, it got really critical and urgent.” Many smaller companies – whose advertisements are important for the business of Facebook are – are on the verge of looking for a way out in the online business. That is why the development of Facebook Shops have been “drastically accelerated”.

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For Facebook The shopping platform itself will bring data about the behavior of customers – similar to other offers of the online network, such as Pile of sugar stressed. “We will see which shops they interact with, what products they are interested in, what they buy and so on.” At the moment, however, no function is provided to share this information with friends, and nobody else except the user, the shop and Facebook get access to it. With the data, however, the online network could continue to perfect its lucrative ability to get advertisers to the right addressees for their ads.

The establishment of the Facebook shops will be free of charge for retailers, said Pile of sugar. Fees would only be due for payment functions, for example – “but the main thing is to cover our costs.” Facebook assume that advertisements from retailers will increase the revenue of the online network. “Our advertising system works with auctions where a company offers as much as an ad is worth. If we can make an ad more valuable because someone who clicks on it is more likely to buy something, we will make more money from advertising “he described Facebook’s train of thought.


Wants to score Facebook also by linking its various services. How to become an online shop via Whatsapp, the Facebook Messenger or the chat function from Instagram can write to. If a credit card is stored in the Facebook system, you can pay directly with it. Trying and trying on – for example from Cosmetics, Clothing or glasses – is said to be using so-called “augmented reality”Augmented reality) can be made easier by mixing virtual content on the display with real images. For example, you can show makeup colors on the face or pieces of furniture in the room. The online network is also working on the integration of bonus point programs.

Some categories such as weapons are on the platform not be available even if their sale would be legal, said Pile of sugar.

Facebook With its 2.6 billion users and a well-established online advertising system, it could become a powerful competitor even for large trading platforms such as Amazon and Ebay will. The shopping initiative should also draw regulators’ attention – like everything a company the size of Facebook does, said Pile of sugar. “But I don’t think our reaction can be to not do anything new.” Many people and companies wanted to use Facebook’s products and relied on them. “We have a responsibility to be innovative and I think we are one of the institutions around the world that can really help.”

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