Express announced earlier this week that it was putting its entire product catalog on Facebook so that its nearly 840,000 friends could go shopping without ever having to leave the social media site.
Consumers on the specialty apparel chain's Facebook page can now simply click the Shop Express tab and it's a-shopping-they-can-go. Express has incorporated many Facebook features such as the "Like" button into its shopping feature. Consumers can also post comments, recommend products to friends and post about their experience (and purchases) on their wall.
"Social commerce is the next step in our evolution as a retailer. We continue to look for ways that the customer can interact with the brand on their own schedule and at their convenience, so that we bring down as many barriers as possible," said Jim Wright, sr. vice president, CRM and e-Commerce for Express. "Shopping from our Facebook page is a natural way to help customers interact and share their experience with our brand."
Accordng to a report on the Mashable site, retailers in the U.S. are
behind the Facebook commerce curve compared to merchants in the U.K. "Apparel
retailer ASOS made its entire 150,000-product catalog shippable on Facebook
in January, complete with product search and secure checkout, followed shortly
by another U.K. fashion retailer, Young British Designers."
Another article on Mashable reported that Tesco Clothing had generated over $3.2 million in sales in the past year through its Facebook page in the U.K.
"Full ecommerce integration stands to benefit companies with a strong or sole ecommerce focus, particularly independent or boutique firms looking to stand apart from larger conglomerates," Jessica Quillin, managing director of Quillin Consulting, told Mashable. "The concept of a Facebook store is to combine direct marketing and online shopping into a fully-tailored, streamlined retail experience. Online fashion and luxury retailers, especially those that sell high-end goods, are a natural fit for full ecommerce integration simply because they cater to a sophisticated demographic with busy lives who likely crave a more personalized, quick-access shopping experience."