INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Want to run your own home shopping network Facebook is now testing a Live video feature for merchants that lets them demo and describe
Customers can screenshot something they want to buy and use Messenger to send it to the seller, who can then request payment right through
the chat app.
Facebook confirms the new shopping feature is currently in testing with a limited set of Pages in Thailand, which has been a
testbed for shopping features
The option was first spotted by social media and reputation managerJeff Higgins, and re-shared by Matt Navarraand Social Media Today
But now Facebook is confirming the test existence and providing additional details.
The company tells me it had heard feedback from the
community in Thailand that Live video helped sellers demonstrate how items could be used or worn, and provided richer understanding than
Users also told Facebook that Live interactivity let customers instantly ask questions and get answers about product specifications and
Facebook has looked to Thailand to test new commerce experiences like home rentals in Marketplace, as the country citizens were quick to
prove how Facebook Groups could be used for peer-to-peer shopping
&Thailand is one of our most active Marketplace communities& saysMayank Yadav, Facebook product manager for Marketplace.
Now it running the
Live shopping test, which allows Pages to notify fans that they&re broadcasting to &showcase products and connect with your customers.&
Merchants can take reservations and request payments through Messenger
Facebook tells me it doesn&t currently have plans to add new partners or expand the feature
But some sellers without access are being invited to join a waitlist for the feature
It also says it working closely with its test partners to gather feedback and iterate on the live video shopping experience, which would
seem to indicate it interested in opening the feature more widely if it performs well.
Facebook doesn&t take a cut of payments through
Messenger, but the feature could still help earn the company money at a time when it seeking revenue streams beyond News Feed ads as it runs
out of space there, Stories take over as the top media form and user growth plateaus
Hooking people on video viewing helps Facebook show lucrative video ads
The more that Facebook can train users to buy and sell things on its app, the better the conversion rates will be for businesses, and the
more they&ll be willing to spend on ads
Facebook could also convince sellers who broadcast Live to buy its new Marketplace ad units to promote their wares
And Facebook is happy to snatch any use case from the rest of the internet, whether it long-form video viewing or job applications or
shopping to boost time on site and subsequent ad views.
Increasingly, Facebook is setting its sights on Craigslist, Etsy and eBay
Those commerce platforms have failed to keep up with new technologies like video and lack the trust generated by Facebook real-name policy
A few years ago, selling something online meant typing up a generic description and maybe uploading a photo
Soon it could mean starring in your own infomercial.
[PostScript: And a Facebook home shopping network could work perfectly on its new
countertop smart display Portal.]
