Facebook really, really wants to get a slice of that fat e-commerce pie.
BRAZIL - 2021/09/01: In this photo illustration, a Facebook logo seen displayed on a smartphone along with a shopping cart.
The social media giant is ramping up its efforts to become a true, proper online shopping site with a host of new tools for businesses, reports TechRadar.
These tools, according to Facebook, aim to help brands boost their businesses on the platform.
With the newly released tools, Facebook aims to make its platform easier for brands to navigate. In turn, the brands will have a better chance to appeal to users by offering a far more complete shopping experience.
Among these new additions include an easier way for users to find their favorite brands.
People can also now be aware of up-and-coming products and businesses with improved discovery options, and there are now official Work Accounts, which are intended for people who want to use Facebook strictly for business only.
Facebook describes these new features as aiming for the "next era of personalized experiences."
With the changes, the social media giant is hoping that businesses and business owners reach the perfect market for their products. Aside from that, the features could also facilitate better communication between companies and brands, since either party will only be a message away.
Lastly, Facebook also launched new updates for its Facebook Business Suite. This platform aims to give brands an in-depth look at their profiles and activities all over the network.
It will also give them a direct e-mail line to any customer who uses the service.
There's also a way for businesses to streamline their content creation process with the File Manager feature, which covers conceptualization, management, and posting of content on their profiles.
Facebook As An Online Store? It's Been In The Works for a While Now
This isn't obviously the first time that Facebook wanted to enter the e-commerce space.
Last year, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook Shops, whose goal is to make it easier for businesses to list their products and services on sale, reports CNBC.
There's also the idea of cross-platform e-commerce with WhatsApp linking to Facebook Shops, which launched back in June. Since Facebook owns WhatsApp, this is more or less an expected maneuver from the Big Tech giant.
Facebook E-Commerce Still Faces Challenges
If Facebook really wants to become a proper online shopping platform, however, it will have to overcome some pretty hefty challenges.
Their most direct competitors (specifically Amazon and eBay) still dominate the e-commerce market in terms of reach. But with how Facebook owns other platforms such as Instagram, WhatsApp, and Paypal, they might be able to overcome both the reach and payment option issues.
WhatsApp messenger logo is pictured on a phone screen in Moscow on August 26, 2021. - Russia has fined Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp for failing to store the data of Russian users on local servers, the country's internet watchdog said on August 26, as authorities clamp down on foreign internet companies.
Aside from that, people aren't really opting for Facebook anymore as their main social media network. In May, the company experienced a 30% drop in app downloads while TikTok experienced a boom. Granted, TikTok doesn't offer an in-app shopping feature, but folks who use it have the option to just go to Facebook's competitors for their online shopping needs.
Related: Instagram Shop to Soon Have Ads, as Social Media Tests the App's Functions and Availability
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by RJ Pierce
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