Facebook is currently trialling its latest innovation, Facebook Gifts, which will allow individuals to buy physical gifts on the platform to be delivered to their friends. This innovation is set to be a real boost for Facebook and may serve to convince brands and retailers to commit to the overall concept of F-commerce. Richard Britton, managing director of CloudSense, argues that with time, Facebook Gifts could become an invaluable part of a brand’s multi-channel effort.
Facebook has long been trying to make its platform more palatable for retailers and brands as a potential sales channel and following the IPO this has received further emphasis. Retailers and brands are keen to use Facebook by tapping into its massive market of one billion users to drive sales and develop an additional revenue stream: they just need convincing. It remains a catch 22 because situation: brands need to get involved for the system to take off, yet many won’t commit to the platform until they see success stories from other brands. If Facebook can demonstrate that ‘Gifts’ does indeed appeal to consumers, then Facebook, its shareholders, consumers and brands will ultimately win.
Facebook already has a heritage in consumers buying virtual goods for friends, so the ‘Gifts’ idea is not ground breaking. However, while the buying and delivery of a virtual gift are almost instantaneous, the order management process behind the delivery of physical gifts will be much more complex. If brands can make the buying process simpler, they are more likely to boost sales. Extra steps in the sales process make a conversion less likely and it is perhaps here that Facebook Gifts will succeed or fail. It needs to be a quick, easy and secure purchasing process, where customers can buy without the need to leave the site. With the amount of information that Facebook stores on each consumer this shouldn’t be a problem. In addition, as a large number of Facebook users log on exclusively through their mobiles, it will also need to be completely mobile optimised to deliver the experience consumers expect.
Brands will need to adapt to the innovation by removing silos between business systems to deliver a more granular view of the customer that can be the basis for a long term relationship. Brands are still to be 100 per cent convinced about the overall success of F-commerce, but the introduction of new and usable tools like Facebook Gifts could go a long way to towards tipping the balance. If implemented effectively it could be the gift that keeps on giving.
By Richard Britton
Managing Director
CloudSense
http://www.cloudsense.com/
