Facebook has long been anticipated to go commercial, and the latest announcement of testing a ‘Buy button’ on posts that let users shop things they want without exiting the social network, just makes it apparent.
Facebook in an online post said that it is testing the ‘Buy button’ feature with a limited number of small to medium businesses based in the US. The post further notes that people will be able to shop just by clicking the call-to-action button, “Buy” on the posts or on Facebook pages of business, without navigating away from their newsfeed.
Facebook is likely trying to find how effectively the social network can drive sales for retailers through newsfeeds and Facebook pages. The company also noted that the buyers’ credit card or debit card information will be protected and that storing financial information will be of help for future purchases as the processing could be faster.
Facebook has already experimented with similar features in the past, like Facebook credits, the popular online currency which could be used to send gifts to friends and family, which was called off in 2012.
Rivals Twitter and Google are also likely trying to incorporate similar features into their services. Twitter has already inked a deal with Amazon to let users shop using hashtags. Google is also reportedly taking steps to bring a similar feature into its service along the same lines.
Gartner analyst Brian Blau said that the Buy button is clearly an experiment by Facebook to find how easily it can make shopping on the social network desirable for users.
