Facebook shopping: site testing 'buy button' to let users shop without ever leaving site
‘Pages’ on the network will become little versions of shops, and you’ll be able to checkout from them
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Your support makes all the difference.Facebook is adding a buy button to its pages — letting users shop on the site without ever having to leave.
The new tools will let shops show off products on their pages and then allow users to buy things straight from them, reports BuzzFeed News. The company is testing the new feature out with a few dozen sellers at the moment, but is set to expand to include others if it is successful.
The shops are likely to be displayed very prominently in the app, according to BuzzFeed’s initial view. The site speculated that may mean that users will see more actual items from shops — rather than advertising images created with the aim of going viral as promotion.
Facebook isn’t taking a cut from sales made through the site at the moment. It’s possible that it will make money through the new tool instead by encouraging shops to pay for advertising — letting them show their products to Facebook users while they’re on the site.
Facebook has gradually been trying to build payment and shopping tools into its apps.
It launched the ability to send money through Messenger earlier this year — and soon after made it so that companies can use the app to communicate throughout the order process, hoping to do away with order confirmation and delivery emails. It also emerged last week that it was reportedly working on a special virtual assistant that would help users out by telling them where to buy things from.
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