Facebook announced yesterday it’s testing a new “buy” button available to advertisers via ads on News Feed and Pages. This will allow consumers to make online purchases directly within Facebook, with the option for Facebook to store a user’s credit card information for future use.
The new feature brings Facebook closer to a head-to-head competition with e-commerce giant Amazon. Currently, the buy button on Facebook is limited to select small and medium-sized businesses in the US. Before this announcement, Facebook allowed for payments via third party apps.
In related news, Twitter is also edging into the e-commerce space with its purchase of CardSpring, which allows users to claim coupons or special deals via Tweets. In May, Twitter announced a partnership with Amazon that allows users to add items to their Amazon shopping cart using Twitter hashtags.
Further reading:
- ‘Testing a New Way for People to Discover and Buy Products on Facebook’ via Facebook for Business
- ‘Facebook Tests Buy Button as Twitter Acquires CardSpring’ via Bloomberg
- ‘Twitter’s Big Deal With Amazon Is A Step Toward What Could Be A Huge New Revenue Stream’ via BusinessInsider
-Posted by Elizabeth Pace–
aspiringCMO 