Facebook is testing out a new “Buy” button that would allow users to purchase things directly from ads or posts on their new feeds.
The button is being tested due to an effort to get more businesses on Facebook. A “Buy” button would boost the sales of a business by expanding marketing opportunities, explained Facebook.
“With this feature, people on desktop or mobile can click the ‘Buy’ call-to-action button on ads and Page posts to purchase a product directly from a business, without leaving Facebook,” the social media company posted onto its Facebook for Business blog.
The “Buy” button currently is being tested, and appears at the button of a select number of ads from certain US businesses. Currently, only several small-sized and medium-sized US companies have the button added to their ads, but this could grow if the “Buy” button is well-received.
Facebook is mostly likely adding the “Buy” button to grow its advertising business, experts have said. The social media giant will account for only 7.8 percent of global digital ad spending this year, which is fairly small compared to Google, which will account for 31.5 percent. By adding in the new “Buy” button, Facebook might be able to even the playing field with Google.
“With this step, Facebook is becoming even more firmly established as a major player in direct response advertising, and though this test is still only a test, it’s a definite sign that Facebook wants to restart its efforts to become an e-commerce company as well,” said EMarketer analyst Debra Aho.
Facebook has also assured users that it takes their privacy very seriously, and will not give away any credit card or debit card information to advertisers. However, users will be able to keep their purchasing info saved on Facebook for easy future checkouts, the company said.
“We’ve built this feature with privacy in mind, and have taken steps to help make the payment experience safe and secure,” stated Facebook’s post.
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