How to Use Facebook Shop for eCommerce

Are you a seller or a business owner? Are you selling on Facebook Shop yet? Here’s why selling on Facebook will help you!

You and I are probably among the early adopters of Facebook. From finding and connecting with old friends and family to uploading pictures, Facebook has been an integral part of everybody’s online social life. Facebook has also emerged as a vital platform for brands and businesses to enhance their online presence.

Many have also used the platform to buy and sell things – be it small or big. It was the people who envisioned social commerce. And now Facebook is further helping them make it a reality.

Facebook has in fact gone a step ahead to help small businesses adapt and make it easier for people to discover and shop for things they love. As many small businesses are struggling to survive and thrive in the aftermath of the pandemic, they are all left with no option but to go online.

Facebook released Facebook Shop to empower anyone from a small business owner to a global brand to use the platform to connect with customers. It has multiple features that make buying and selling a much easier process for the consumers and the sellers respectively.

Having an own online store is one thing and selling on online platforms like their party eCommerce platforms and Facebook shop is another. Selling on established platforms helps you expand your reach and find more customers – there’s a lot more that these platforms offer in terms of brands and features, attracting a wider audience.

Here’s how to create a Facebook Shop page real quick and get on your journey to selling on Facebook! First let’s look at the basics.

What is a Facebook Shop?

Facebook Shops make it easy for businesses to set up a single online store for customers to access on both Facebook and Instagram. Creating a Facebook Shop is free and simple. Businesses can choose the products they want to feature from their catalog and then customize the look and feel of their shop with a cover image and accent colors that showcase their brand.

This means any seller, no matter their size or budget, can bring their business online and connect with customers wherever and whenever it’s convenient for them.

Where to find the Facebook Shop?

People can find Facebook Shops on a business’ Facebook Page or Instagram profile, or discover them through stories or ads. From there, you can browse the full collection, save products you’re interested in, and place an order.

Benefits of Facebook Shop

In the times where brands are competing aggressively with unique features and offerings, it is impossible for a brand to keep up with one single selling platform. You have no option but to widen your reach via other channels like that of a Facebook Shop or a third party eCommerce store.

Facebook Shop works as a great option as there are already people spending a lot of time on the platform. One only needs to direct them to your store which is where a Facebook Shop comes in handy.

As per recent reports, Facebook users spend an average of 40+ minutes per day on the popular social network. And a good chunk of that time goes towards Facebook shopping. That’s quite a bit of time considering this happens on a daily basis!

Many of us also spend quite a lot of time clicking on links and liking posts on Facebook even through the weekdays. Therefore, now is the right time to take advantage of Facebook as a selling platform!

Facebook might not give you as many ecommerce features as, say, Dukaan, but you do get all the essential features to help you start selling your products.

Facebook Shop Requirements

What’s great about a Facebook Shop is that you don’t need to have any pre-existing online store and can run your entire operation via Facebook if you wish to. But the benefits don’t end there. With a Facebook Shop page you can:

• Add unlimited number of products
• Organize your products in collections/ categories
• Communicate with your customers directly through the page
• Get stats including sales, visits, and more
• Showcase your products on Facebook marketplace, giving you access to a much larger base of potential customers

The best part is that everyone can create a Facebook Shop page and start selling on Facebook to their followers, immediately.

Here’s what you need before you begin:

• A Facebook account
• A Facebook business page

The above two steps are not difficult. You, in all probability, already have a business page on Facebook so we’ll skip this part and instead get straight down to the matter.

Apart from the two requirements above, your Facebook Shop page must also adhere to the following – It must:

• Sell physical items – this means there’s no way to sell digital or downloadable products from your Facebook Shop page
• Agree to Facebook’s Merchant Terms
• Link to a valid bank account and have a tax identification number (valid only for US-based stores)

On ensuring the completion of the above-mentioned steps, you could proceed to set up your own Facebook Shop page.

Conclusion

That’s pretty much it! If you’re already well-versed with how Facebook works, setting up a store is just a matter of a few clicks. And if you have your products categorised and have a clear idea on how you want your store to look, setting it up takes just a few minutes.

Facebook is a dynamic platform and things often keep changing. So, if you ever need assistance with something specific on your Shop page, here’s an official page from Facebook Help Center that will help you with your concerns.

Now that we have broken down the process of setting up an online Facebook Shop, go ahead and start selling. Let us know your experience by commenting in the comment section below.

It is a great time for businesses, especially the small businesses, to go online and platforms like Facebook Shop and Dukaan just enable the sellers better.

Tip – Here are a few detailed blogs that will help you further in setting up and selling your products like a pro!

• How to sell products online
• How to convert visitors to customers on your online store