Facebook recently launched its latest feature 'Shops' for both Facebook and Instagram, which will put more emphasis on eCommerce on each platform, and make it easier for entrepreneurs, small businesses to upload their catalog, and start selling items direct from their posts.
However, the "Shop" feature is not fully launched everywhere just yet, Facebook is working on the final details before they fully roll out to all businesses. Here are some key notes about this new features from Deborah Liu, VP of Marketplace and Payments from Facebook :
Business Page will get a notification or email when Shops is made available to them
Shops will be customizable with brand elements
Product listing will be managed via Commerce Manager
Shops will be for physical goods only at launch, but Facebook will look to expand into other services such as courses and online offering in the future
Shops will be rolling out in the next several months
For now, you can create Shop style listing on Facebook and Instagram, however, the new and updated process will give you an idea of how the system will work, and here is an overview of the current Commerce Manager set-up for selling products in Facebook app.
Before you begin
Businesses come in all shapes and sizes. We suggest that you talk with your internal teams before onboarding to Commerce Manager to make sure you have the following details:
A Federal Tax Identification Number that matches your legal name
A State Tax Registration Number for every state where you do business
Your bank account info to get your payouts (currently US only)
Your physical business address and email address
The category that best describes your business, your business type and name
A business representative name, and their SSN and DOB
Your shipping options, return policy and customer service email
Walk Through
Ready to get started? Go to Commerce Manager to set up your commerce account, link your sales channels, add inventory and select business preferences and payouts. You’ll also use Commerce Manager to manage your orders, mark items as shipped, and handle returns and refunds.
Step 1: Go to Commerce Manager
You’ll need to select a Commerce Account or create a new one.
Step 2: Connect to a Sales Channels
You can connect to Facebook and Instagram and set up on our platform. Or, you can choose to integrate with a platform partner.
Step 3: Connect your Business Account and Catalog
Select the account that you want to sell from. Make sure to link an Instagram Business or Creator Account or a Facebook Page that you own. You’ll also need to upload your inventory to Commerce Manager by linking a catalog. This can be done in a couple of ways:
Use a platform partner. You can use an eligible partner to set up your sales channels.
Add products to Facebook using Facebook Catalog Manager.
Step 4: Set Business Preferences
You’ll need to add important information such as your business’s information, return policy and shipping terms. You will also need to provide financial and tax information to receive payouts for sales. To issue payouts, we’ll need to verify your business and provide tax documentation.
Step 5: Manage Orders and Returns
In the Orders tab, you can download your order history, keep track of shipped items and mark items as shipped. If you need to cancel an order or manage a return, you can do this based on an order ID or using the search function at the top of the page. You can also bulk manage orders with CSV files.
Step 6: Receive Payouts for Orders
After you fulfill an order for customers, you can mark items as shipped and receive payouts. In the Payouts tab, you can manage payouts, create financial reports and download necessary tax forms.
After you complete the onboarding process, your business can sell across Facebook and Instagram with Checkout. When customers discover your products on Facebook and Instagram and go to purchase, they will be able to do so without leaving the platform. With Commerce Manager, your business will have a set of unified tools to help manage sales on our platform.
Credit: Information from Facebook