Facebook Debuts New Shopping Features Just in Time for the Holidays

Are you planning to shop on Black Friday? Well, if you're looking to skip the crowds this holiday season or you're a content creator looking to bring in some extra cash, Facebook's new shopping features might appeal to you.


Facebook, now under the company name Meta, just rolled out two new shopping features: Shops in Groups and Live Shopping for Creators, which are both now available to use on the web and on Facebook's mobile app for iOS and Android devices.

The Shops in Groups feature allows Facebook group admins to set up an online shop on the group's page. Perfect if you're looking for niche gift ideas or if you're trying to turn your Facebook group into a lucrative side hustle.

Shops in Groups is also great if you're looking for product recommendations. TechCrunch's article stated that "if a user mentions a product that is listed in a Facebook shop, they can tag it and embed it into their comment. Top product recommendations from groups will appear within users' news feeds."

Yulie Kwon Kim, Meta's vice president of Product Management, told TechCrunch that "many group admins are volunteers, and these shops could offer them a revenue stream for their work."

But where does the money from purchases go? Well, it's up to the group admins. Those looking to make a purchase on Facebook groups should always do their due diligence to make sure the group is credible—especially if they claim part of the proceeds are being donated to a philanthropic organization.

Now, what's the deal with Live Shopping for Creators? Facebook wants to make it easier for brands and content creators to collaborate. The new feature, which the Facebook app is currently testing, creates a more seamless experience for users by allowing influencers and brands to cross-stream products across both of their accounts rather than the influencer directing their followers to another page.

We'll most likely see Meta adding more shopping-related features and tools to Facebook soon as the holiday season comes to an end. Meta mainly earns its revenues through advertising, but their investments in shopping on social media offer an additional source of income for the company.

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