Facebook had earlier announced that it would launch Shops on Facebook and Instagram, allowing any small and medium-sized micro-enterprise to create its own store on the platform for free and easy to operate.

Facebook has announced a series of updates to help small and medium-sized microenterprises transition to digital shopping, the most important of which is Facebook Shops, which is similar to Facebook Page Shop, which existed before the update, but with some differences.

The launch of Facebook Shops makes the user's shopping experience easier, while making it easier for incoming merchants. Merchants can start their own "social e-commerce" journey by uploading items such as product images as required on the upcoming Facebook Shop Builder platform.

Unlike Facebook Page Shop in the past, Facebook Shops allows retailers to upload catalogs directly to Facebook pages or Instagram profiles with the support of partners such as Shopify, Big Commerce and Woo Commerce. In contrast to previous, when users clicked on a Facebook page to jump to a third-party site to shop, the new features of this update omit the cumbersome steps of the past and allow a series of actions to be done without leaving the Facebook interface.

The upcoming launch of the Facebook Shops feature has also been boldly predicted to be "widely used in the coming months." For businesses, the privacy issues associated with using the feature are then covered with the Getting Started Guide, and detailed getting started tutorials are posted on the Facebook for Business/Business website.

Following Facebook's announcement of the update, its Instagram page also plans to launch a similar shopping feature for its users, Instagram Shop. Instagram Shop will be displayed in the form of an immersive online storefront, where users can access the store through the merchant's business Instagram page or Facebook page, as well as through tweets and ads posted by the business. For businesses, the creation of Instagram Shop is simple and free, which brings a lot of convenience. This feature is being rolled out globally in stages, and interested businesses must not miss it.

The U.S. is expected to be the first to experience Instagram Shop this summer. On top of this feature, users will be able to browse for purchases through the dedicated "Shopping" tab on Instagram Explore, and all items will be viewed with a one-click purchase.

For users (consumers), this means being able to shop directly on the platform when they enter the Instagram store.

To further optimize the platform's shopping experience, Facebook will also optimize its Facebook Shop and its Instagram Store sharing feature, which will allow users to instantly view the store information they share in private messages, and expect a great experience on WhatsApp, Messenger, or Instagram Direct. In the future, users will even be able to buy items directly in private messages shared by the other person.

While Facebook and Instagram are launching innovative shopping experiences, its Live Shopping Live With Goods feature is currently being tested.

In this feature, sellers, brands and developers will be able to direct consumers to purchase through live streaming. During the live broadcast, the product information appears synchronously below the video, and the audience (consumers) can click on the appropriate product information to learn more and make a purchase. Facebook and Instagram are currently in the testing phase and are expected to be widely rolled out "in the coming months."

According to Facebook officials, the company is currently testing a way to link merchant "membership programs" to Facebook's personal accounts. With this feature, merchants will be able to access Facebook Shops and still manage their membership on the Facebook platform.

Back in March, Facebook launched a pilot program in the U.S. that involved Facebook working with a handful of businesses to link its existing brand members to Facebook's personal accounts, in which case, for example, customers of beauty brand Sephora could instantly view their points and rewards on the platform through their Facebook personal accounts.