The other day I went to take my kids to Michigan Adventure, and, of course, they loved everything from the coasters to the go cart races. And, of course, they had the usual park fare, a plate of cheese that appeared to have some nachos sprinkled in and a hot pretzel with enough salt to fill our water softener. Obviously, we didn’t go there for the food, we went for the rides and purchased the “food” because we were there, and we were hungry. Nothing works up an appetite like getting tossed around like a rag doll on a ride going 80 mph.
But it brings up an interesting comparison between what we plan to buy and what we purchase on impulse. This is especially interesting in the debate regarding the dreaded “f word,” yes you guessed it “F-Commerce”, the new term for e-Commerce on Facebook. The question is simple, “Do people really want to buy products directly through Facebook?” The answers aren’t so easy.
The detractors will tell you that people don’t go to Facebook to purchase products—they go for entertainment and catching up with friends. Well, I didn’t go to Michigan Adventure to find the world’s saltiest pretzel and look what happened. I went to the park for the rides; the food was an impulse purchase that was aided by the prodding of a hungry nine-year-old. But it does raise an interesting question: Will Facebook users purchase on impulse as well because they’re already there?
So what if people want to purchase through Facebook. The whole platform is wildly successful not only because of its simplicity but because of its ability to cater to impulse. Think, write, post—it’s a real-time flow of impulse consciousness. But there are concerns ranging from privacy to the shopping experience to payment systems. In a recent survey of U.S. and U.K. FB users, over 70% did not think Facebook was secure enough to make purchases on. But over 56% of consumers reported that they have visited a retailer’s website based on a FB post, indicating that while FB may drive engagement, it’s not as accepted as a retail destination. While some brands such as JC Penney have established full F-Commerce content pages, many others are using the Open Graph to interconnect FB with their site and purchase process, and other brands still link out or rely more heavily on coupons found on FB but redeemed through a different purchase process.
And right now there still isn’t definitive data to conclude whether F-Commerce will catch on or be unable to overcome some of the hurdles referenced already. In a recent Forrester study, only 3% of social network users indicated they have purchased products through a social network over a three-month period. In addition to low adoption rates, the problems of payment and privacy are strongly intertwined, and it’s not clear whether shoppers will want to pay for goods on a platform with ongoing security concerns. It took years for online payment to become more common and trusted, and the digital world carried much less of the privacy stigma than currently exists on social spaces. In addition, brands need to design and coordinate how their ecommerce system will work within Facebook, something certainly not as easy as designing a coupon application.
In conclusion, the question remains, “If you build it, will they buy it?” Right now, maybe not. We expect the adoption of F-Commerce we to be slow, but don’t discount the potential benefits of an F-Commerce solution long-term. Your brand will still be interacting with a group of shoppers predisposed to like your products, and those shoppers are available for an ongoing dialogue within the cost-efficient reach of a Facebook post.
And, of course, never underestimate the power of impulse decision making. I certainly won’t the next time we walk past the Nacho/Pretzel stand with a couple of hungry kids.
e-Commerce on Facebook: If You Build It, Will They Buy It?
by Perficient Author on August 23rd, 2011 | ~ minute read
