http://www.everydaymoney.ca

« The benefits of triple digit oil prices | Main | Wedding rules: Is it ok to ask for cash? »

October 06, 2021

Would you like online shopping to come to Facebook?

During the formative years of its operation, Facebook made its bones without bogging users down with advertisements and pop-ups.

As site founder Mark Zuckerberg is portrayed as saying in The Social Network, the site was supposed to represent the best party on earth. In the movie, when he’s presented with the idea of introducing ads as a means to monetize the company, Zuckerberg responds that such a move would be like taking that shindig, and shutting it down at 11.

While Facebook may have wavered a bit on its no-ad policy over the years, it’s still done a pretty good job of insulating users from the presence of the corporate world. Now, though, because of diapers, that may be coming to an end.

Yes, as retailers have been frothing at the mouth for years to gain access to Facebook’s 540 million worldwide users, it appears Pampers has become one of the first to tap into the site’s online shopping capabilities.

Through an Amazon-powered webstore on the Pampers fan page, shoppers can now purchase diapers on Facebook without ever leaving the site.

And, while online diaper shopping may not be the buzz you want out of a story like this, the technology behind Pampers’ Amazon webstore suggests much more is to come.

In theory, Amazon could host any retailer through its new webstore platform, which is likely to turn many brand fan pages into interactive shopping sites via Facebook.

Because of the site’s interaction, it’s been reported that some brands could even go so far as to ask Facebook users which products should go on sale, via a poll.

On Amazon’s end, the online shopping pioneer charges $10 per month to host the Facebook webstore, as well as 0.7 per cent of “sales and above,” according to PCMag.com. Yet that may be peanuts to brands like Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy, who are also rumoured to being close to bringing their brands to a Facebook webstore.

Cool idea? Bad idea? You tell us. Would you be open to shopping on Facebook, without ever having to leave the site?

By Jason Buckland, MSN Money

TrackBack

Comments

Post a comment

advertisement

Gordon PowersGordon Powers

A long-time fund company executive, Gordon Powers now heads up the Affinity Group, a financial services consulting firm. Gordon was a personal finance columnist for the Globe & Mail for many years, has taught retirement planning...

James HaversJames Havers

James is the senior editor of MSN Money living in Toronto. He has worked for the Nikkei Shimbun (Tokyo), canoe.ca, AOL.ca, Canadian Business and other publications. Havers turned to journalism after teaching overseas.

Jason BucklandJason Buckland

The modern-day MC Hammer of money, Jason can often be seen spending cash that isn’t his with the efficiency of a Wilt Chamberlain first date. After cutting his teeth as a reporter for the Toronto Sun, he joined the MSN Money team with...