In this new world, more and more people are shifting their small businesses online. These businesses are using Facebook and Instagram to sell their products on Facebook and Instagram shops. Social media helps them communicate their products quickly to their customers. This is more so realized during this time of COVID-19 where a lot of stores and small businesses are not allowed to open due to fear of the spread of the pandemic. The only way these small businesses can survive during these times is by moving more online. These digital storefronts allow them to take orders and ship goods to customers still.
Facebook has seen a dramatic increase in small businesses online in comparison to before the pandemic strike. Besides, those businesses that were already on Facebook have now prioritized Facebook as their main avenue for selling their products. Unlike before, Facebook was only seen as a platform to bring people together. They have now grown their economic side to empower individuals, entrepreneurs, and small business owners to grow through their platform. Mark Zuckerberg says that the vast majority of business advertisements on Facebook come from small businesses, which makes the biggest part of their revenue.
Statistics show that there are approximately 160 million small businesses around the world that use social media services like Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, etc. The vast majority of these businesses use these services for free and are usually followed by their local customers. These businesses range from local brands selling clothing items, tools to even people’s favorite restaurants. Facebook considers these businesses as partners and is continually improving its platform for their needs. This includes allowing them to customize their business inventory and adding the capacity to enable companies to upload as many products as possible.
In addition, to help online shops, Facebook has built features like businesses nearby tools that help customers find posts from businesses around them. This way, they can find information like pick up or delivery options, make bookings, or send messages directly. To companies, once they are set up and running, their services will synchronize with all other apps under Facebook like Instagram and WhatsApp. In short, what this means is customers can fill up their carts while on Instagram and later checkout on Facebook.
With Facebook shops, businesses can tell their own story and how their products benefit customers. Through augmented reality, companies are also able to allow their customers to virtually try out products by making use of the smartphone camera. This way, customers will be able to see what products look on them or in a space to make more informed decisions. In conclusion, Facebook shops provide open e-commerce services such as checkout, shipping logistics, and customer support, together with big e-commerce companies like Shopify, big commerce, woo-commerce, etc.
