Nowadays social media sites rule over our daily lives; it’s hard to believe we ever lived without them. Things as simple as a conversation or sharing primarily occur via the internet. As reported by developer Tom Waddington, it seems we will soon be able to add online shopping to that list of social media uses. Facebook has been quietly making changes to its Javascript coding with hopes of developing a brand new “Want” button to accompany its “Like” and “Subscribe” buttons. The question is, how will this new button change the online shopping industry?
As of right now, the “Want” button is designed to create a running virtual wish list for Facebook users and will embed into websites the same way the “Like” button does.
Several social plugins from Facebook have come and gone over time, but none have been able to reach the popularity of the “Like” button, mainly because it has an infinite number of uses. People can like just about anything they please. Although the “Want” button may not have nearly as many uses, it can definitely take on the massive online shopping industry, which is projected to boast over $963 billion in revenue from worldwide sales by 2013.
The impact of this “Want” button will occur in two main areas: Facebook’s growth as a business and retail brands’ growth in online sales.
1. Facebook could challenge Amazon and eBay
As for Facebook, the social media network could use this new button to launch itself into the online retail industry to compete with the likes of Amazon and eBay, who have dominated online retail for quite some time. With its abundance of data on users, Facebook could potentially create a social shopping atmosphere unparalleled by even local shopping malls, outlets, etc. If a shopping feature were implemented neatly and in a way that does not suffocate its users, Facebook would pose a large threat to dethrone Amazon of its online retail title!
2. Retail brand sales could skyrocket
On the other hand, any retail brand that currently is not selling its products online should now take the opportunity to create an e-commerce store. With all its incredible benefits and the simplicity of embedding the code into your site, the “Want” button gives every retail brand a reason to participate. Every “want” will also appear in users’ news feeds so that online shopping can become a social experience to be shared with friends! Seeing as the news feed is a main reason Facebook has excelled over similar social media sites, it is definitely a great space to have your products displayed in a manner conducive to generating sales!
Let’s face it. Slip ups can occur on any level of business: for big corporations or even small businesses, so neither Amazon nor retail brands should take the “Want” button lightly. Any slight edge over the competition your business can get can go a long way in the end. We can only hope that this “Want” button goes into effect, and we at Supercool Creative suggest you be the first to get in on the action!
