Get to know Facebook Shops – a new selling tool that will help grow your online sales

Recently, Facebook has launched many tools and features that help support business operations, including its advertising platform, the “Shop” tab on your Facebook page, and Facebook Marketplace. These are tools that many people are familiar with and use to generate income for their business, but the global social media giant’s latest tool is primed to make a big impact.

Facebook Shops is the newest feature from Facebook and is specifically developed and designed for local businesses or SMEs to have an online space to sell their products and services. It arrives fully functional and free to use and is an especially topical tool given that more and more people habitually shop for goods online. 

Is Facebook Shops difficult to use? What are the benefits? 

Facebook Shops was intuitively designed for easy adoption, even by sellers who do not have online selling experience. Its low barrier to entry and shallow learning curve encourages local businesses and SMEs to quickly digitise their sales.

Other beneficial features of Facebook Shops: 

1. Create product collections by dividing your products by product line or category, making it easier for customers to browse your goods
2. Reach more potential customers by automatically listing products on your Facebook Shops in the Marketplace, increasing the likelihood that customers will find your products 
3. Connect with your customers through direct messaging on your Facebook page 
4. Unlimited product listing
5. Receive valuable insights and detailed statistics about customer behaviour, including views, clicks, and purchases.

How can you join Facebook Shops? 

Facebook Shops just recently launched in the United States, though it will soon be available worldwide. If you intend to use this feature in the future, we suggest that you start preparing product photos, details, and prices to make onboarding a breeze when Facebook Shops is available in Thailand. We also suggest investing time in creating beautiful product photos to attract more customers to your shop when they are browsing. Since this is a new feature, it is recommended to get ahead of your competition and be an early adopter.

What kind of businesses should use Facebook Shops?

Any business with a Facebook page can use Facebook Shops, but we feel it is best suited to businesses selling products with fixed prices, as opposed to products with a negotiable price such as collectables or art. 

Facebook Shops requires all products to be listed with a price, and while it has become common practice to list a “fake price” to encourage customers to message for more details, we suggest that you practice transparency with your customers by only listing accurate information.

Why should you use Facebook Shops? 

Facebook is the most used social media platform in the world, especially in Thailand, where seemingly everyone from kids to seniors has an account. More and more users are utilising Facebook for shopping online, making the social media platform an essential online marketplace. The old Facebook sales model of posting photos and fielding a series of questions from potential customers is no longer an effective way to do business in the digital era.

Facebook Shops streamlines that old process to meet the needs of both sellers and buyers. So long as sellers are constantly updating their products, promotions, and available stock, customers will be able to shop more efficiently. 

With so many free online business tools available, it is sensible for businesses to use them to their advantage. Facebook Shops is another powerful tool allowing you to grow your business online – how will you use it?