Sales tool added to FB
Social media giant debuts Marketplace, an e-commerce feature for buying and selling
MENLO PARK — Move over, Craigslist and eBay. Facebook has its own online marketplace now.
Facebook on Monday released a new tool that allows users to buy and sell items, an e-commerce push that could challenge the leading online marketplaces.
The new feature, called Marketplace, shows users photos of items that people are selling, based on the locations of a seller or potential buyer. Nearby shoppers can then directly message a seller, make an offer and arrange a time and place to pay for and pick up the item.
“Marketplace makes it easy to find new things you’ll love, and find a new home for the
things you’re ready to part with,” Mary Ku, Facebook’s director of product management, wrote in a blog post. The feature is available only through Facebook’s mobile app.
More than 450 million people visit Facebook groups to buy and sell items each month, the Menlo Park tech firm said. The social media giant doesn’t process payments or deliver items listed for sale, but it does allow people to send and receive payments through its messaging app.
This isn’t the first time Facebook has tried to get its users more interested in purchasing products on its site, but the social media giant’s e-commerce efforts haven’t always gone off without a hitch. While people browse the site to keep up with their family and friends, not all users view Facebook as a popular place to shop.
In 2007, Facebook rolled out a similar feature, also called Marketplace. Powered by tech firm Oodle, the tool never gained momentum among users and was shut down in 2014. Facebook has also been testing a shop section on business pages, and some retailers have been experimenting with chatbots on the messaging app to reach their customers.
Gartner analyst Brian Blau said shopping on Facebook could make more sense for purchases that don’t involve a lot of research.
“Facebook is about connecting people together, and people do buy and sell things,” he said.
The social media company also may have an advantage over Craigslist, where shoppers could be more wary about contacting strangers or falling victim to a scam.
Facebook requires its 1.7 billion users to list their real names, and the ads they post on Marketplace are attached to their online profiles. Craigslist only requires users to verify their email addresses.
“Because you think you know who you’re talking to on Facebook, that may remove some of the uneasiness,” Blau said. “If you’re selling something on Craigslist, you’re not familiar with the person.”
Facebook’s Marketplace also could lay the foundation for the tech firm’s broader e-commerce efforts, which may fuel more revenue from retail sales, some analysts say.
Other social media companies, including Pinterest, have been making a stronger push into e-commerce by releasing tools designed to make it easier for people to shop.
“While it is too early to know how quickly Facebook’s e-commerce platform will grow, we continue to believe that social commerce will play a meaningful role in consumer shopping, and that Facebook and Messenger (along with platforms such as Pinterest) are well positioned to compete given their scale and data,” Baird analyst Colin Sebastian wrote in a note about the topic.
On Monday, Facebook users in the Bay Area already started listing items for sale, including used cars, dressers, baby clothing, couches and other household goods.
Walnut Creek resident Keri Hawkins listed a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses and other designer goods for sale. Hawkins has tried selling items to consignment stores but only gets a fraction of her money back.
“I was looking for an alternative to maximize the amount of money I get from selling my goods,” she said. “I hope that Facebook is it, although I haven’t got any hits yet on the two things I’ve posted.”
Hawkins said she stays away from posting on Craigslist because she feels like it’s less trustworthy and has had some “bad experiences” using the site.
Facebook doesn’t allow users to buy, sell or trade regulated goods such as prescription drugs, marijuana, firearms or ammunition.
Marketplace is being rolled out in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia and New Zealand. It will be available to users over 18 years old on the Facebook app on the iPhone and Android.
“I was looking for an alternative to maximize the amount of money I get from selling my goods. I hope that Facebook is it.” — Keri Hawkins, Walnut Creek