Facebook Shops: create store, review, features

Facebook Shops is Facebook's revamped tool for businesses that allows companies and individual entrepreneurs to advertise and sell their products in an integrated way through Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. If you want to know how to create your own online store with Facebook Shops, read on.

What is Facebook Shops?

Shops is an updated version of Shopify, the tool designed to advertise and sell articles on Facebook.

On this new platform, you can place a product or service catalogue in a more prominent place of your Facebook page, which will translate into greater exposure and potentially greater benefits.

A subscription button allows your followers to stay informed by notifications when you upload new products to your Page.

Facebook Shops responds to the growing interest of Mark Zuckerberg's company in positioning itself in the e-commerce sector to diversify its sources of income.

How does it work?

As we already mentioned, Shops includes several very interesting changes from its predecessor Shopify.

To begin with, if you own a store on Facebook, using the new service you can decide whether you want to redirect your customers to your online store or allow them to complete the purchase without leaving the social network. Also, your followers will be able to save their banking information on Facebook in complete security, making future purchases faster and easier.

Business contact options are also growing: customers who use WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger and Instagram Direct can pass on questions, suggestions and requests easier. The idea is that eventually, everyone will be able to buy from the chats.

Another improvement is that there are more ways to access your store: from the Shops platform itself, from your Facebook page, through ads integrated into the social network and even from the Stories you publish.

And that's not all: another new feature allows you to include your store's items in Facebook and Instagram streaming videos. The products appear at the bottom of the image and you can simply touch them to start the checkout process.

How to create your own online store with Facebook Shops?

If you are already a Shopify customer, all you have to do is to wait for a banner to appear on your homepage offering to migrate your commercial section to Shops.

If you don’t have a Facebook store yet, to open one, follow these simple steps:

1. Create a business page on Facebook.

2. Add the Store section. On a computer, go to the Store tab. If you don't see this option, you'll need to change your page template to a shopping page. To change it, in the menu on the left side of your page, go to Edit Information > Templates and Tabs > Edit > Choose a shopping template, review the various buttons and tabs on your page, and click Apply Template.

3. Now you can safely add the Shop option. Click on it and the platform will provide you with instructions on how to install your shop in Shops. Fill in all the required steps and click on Finish. This shop will be associated with your Facebook business account.

4. Next, start adding products to your catalogue. Remember that Facebook has to validate them before putting them on sale. So be patient, the validation process might take some time.