Since Facebook introduced the shop feature in 2020, it has proven to be among the most popular. Small and big businesses have used it to promote and sell their products and services. With stiff competition in the Facebook ad category, businesses are realizing the benefits of social commerce. This article will guide you in creating a successful social commerce store and show examples you can replicate.

What is a Facebook Shop?

A Facebook shop is an e-commerce platform that allows users to sell their products and services on Facebook and Instagram. The platform makes setting up a shop on the social platform easy without coding knowledge. Sellers can then promote their products through stories to get customers. You only need your bank account and a tax identification number to create one.

Features of a Facebook Shop

You need to understand how a Facebook shop works to get the most out of it. As an end-to-end solution, a Facebook shop incorporates everything you need to market, sell, and provide customer support. Here are the key features:

Integration with E-Commerce Stores

Facebook allows you to add a store created on another platform, as it supports integration with Shopify, WooCommerce, BigCommerce, and more.

Mobile Friendly

Facebook refers to the shop as a mobile-first feature. This means that it leans more towards mobile shopping. Besides, the shop is optimized for mobile devices and can fit every device size and resolution. 

Product Catalog

You can create a collection of products or sort them in a way that makes browsing the shop convenient. Besides, you can adjust different elements of the store, such as color, templates, design, and more.

Built-in Analytics

Another key feature of the shop is the built-in analytics. The Commerce Manager feature will provide insights into your store's performance. However, it will show different metrics depending on the kind of stores you create. 

For instance, if you create your shop on Facebook, you can see insights on customers, visitors, and more. However, if you have integrated a store created on another platform, such as Shopify, the Commerce Manager will show you the number of clicks to your store.

Contact Information

Facebook shop lets customers contact you through various methods such as Messenger, a WhatsApp number, or Instagram Direct. They can ask questions, track deliveries, and get support for their orders. Besides, they can also make their purchases through these apps.

Since the Facebook Store is relatively new, most of its products are still in development. However, it still has some great features that your store can use.

Why You Should Have a Facebook Shop

Statistics indicate that there are over 80 million businesses with Facebook pages. Since most businesses already have a social presence, nurturing their leads to become customers makes sense. The Facebook shop provides an excellent opportunity to do that. That said, here are some benefits of Facebook Shop you should know about:

Access to a Big Audience

With over a third of the world population on Facebook, the social media site offers an excellent opportunity to reach your customers. Besides, a study by Oberlo shows that most Facebook users are between 25 and 34. These are often working-class people with higher buying power. 

Another study by the Pew Research Institute showed that 74% of Facebook users in the United States earned above $75,000. Even better is that most of these users seek products on Facebook, as studies indicate that 15% of social media users in the U.S. browse through products.

Better Customer Relations

As noted earlier, Facebook shops allow you to connect with your customers at different stages of the buying journey. That means you can promote your products to customers on your Facebook page and sell them on your Facebook shop. If customers have questions about the product, you can offer after-sale services on your shop or Facebook page. 

Customers can contact you through WhatsApp or Messenger, providing them with good customer service. Besides, you can set up customer service and a chatbox to respond to customers' queries all the time. We recommend you learn how to use Facebook Messenger for business.

Low Advertising Cost

Compared to other marketing methods, Facebook is usually the cheapest advertising method. Besides, the targeted Facebook advertising capability can create better results. Facebook also allows users to share product links on Messenger and WhatsApp. With the ability to share your products with other social media users, a good Facebook advertising strategy can take your brand to the next level. 

A Good Alternative to a Website

This may sound surprising. Not every business requires a website. A Facebook shop can be a good alternative to a site, as they offer customers the same shopping experience. If you are a startup, you can save a lot of money on website development, hosting, content creation, and other expenses associated with website hosting.

Mobile Friendly

We mentioned earlier that the Facebook store uses a mobile-first approach, providing users with a mobile-friendly shopping experience. With over half of the internet traffic coming from mobile devices and 96% of Facebook users accessing the platform through mobile devices, a mobile-friendly shop offers unmatched benefits to your brand.

Affordable to Maintain

If you create a shop on Commerce Manager, you must pay a monthly maintenance fee. The amount will be automatically deducted from your sales. The fees depend on the size of the sale. If you sell over $8, a 5% fee will be deducted for each order. A fee of $0.4 applies for orders below $8.

This fee covers the cost of maintaining the shop and processing the payment. These are affordable, considering you have a ready audience to view your product. For instance, when you have a Shopify store, you are charged 3% plus 30 cents per sale in the basic plan.

However, you need to advertise your Shopify shop through other media, as the chances of organic traffic coming to your store are low. That's unlike Facebook, where the platform will recommend your products to social media users searching for products in your niche. When you set a good Facebook ad strategy, you can take your shop to the next level.

Drawbacks of a Facebook Shop

Like anything else, a Facebook shop also has its drawbacks. These include:

• Works only on Facebook. While there are billions of Facebook users, billions also don't use it. That means it can be hard to reach the audience that isn't on the social media site with the Facebook Shop.
• Lacks some sales features. You can imagine a situation where you want customers to check out with a promo code or a referral program. Such features aren't available on a Facebook Shop, so you may need to find another alternative.
• A small fee is charged. As we have noted earlier, maintaining a Facebook shop isn't free.  
• Show negative comments. If customers bought a product and weren't happy, they might leave a negative comment. Other customers will see this comment, whether genuine or not, and it might impact your sales.

Requirements for Running a Facebook Shop

Before you can set up a Facebook shop, you need to meet the following requirements. These are:

• A Facebook profile linked to a Facebook business page.
• A Facebook page with at least 2,000 followers.
• Have a physical product to sell. No digital product.
• Tax identification number for your business.
• License to operate in the market you are selling.
• Valid bank account in your name.
• Complying with Facebook policies such as community standards, commercial terms, and terms of service.
• Confirmation of domain ownership.
• Be in a market that is supported.
• Have a trustworthy and authentic presence. This also includes a considerable number of followers.
• Provide accurate information with a clear return and refund policy.

Facebook Shop vs. Facebook Page Shop: Are they the same?

While these two terms sound similar, they aren't the same. A Facebook Shop is a form of a storefront for an existing Facebook page. This provides a more streamlined buying experience, enabling customers to purchase products without leaving a business page.

On the other hand, a Facebook page shop enables you to sell products directly from your business page. When customers click on a product on your business page, they can check it out directly on your site. You can read our guide on how to delete your Facebook page.

How to Create a Facebook Shop

Here are the steps to follow when creating a Facebook store:

Be a Business Manager Admin

Before creating a Facebook Shop, you must be a business manager admin. A business portfolio will allow you to add your Facebook Page, Account Portfolio, Ad accounts, and other business assets together to manage them from one place with the Business Manager or Meta Business Suite.

You should also have a Facebook page and catalog on your business manager account. You should ensure that you have permission to manage the pages. When these details are ready, you can move to the next stage of setting up a Facebook store.

Set Up Your Store

If you are setting up a new Facebook store, you can do that by tapping on Set Up on Store Manager. You should enter your business details, such as the store name and contact information. A good idea would be to give your store a name that people can quickly identify with.

Connect Store to Page

The next step requires connecting your store to your new commerce account. Choose one that matches your new shop if you already have several pages. You should link your  Business Manager Account and tap on Finish Set Up. Remember that once you link the shop to an account, you can not change that.

Setting Configuration

After completing the above steps, Facebook will take you back to the beginning so you can begin configuring your settings. One of the first features you need to add is the catalog. If you already have one, add it. Alternatively, you can create a new one. Remember that you are only allowed to add one catalog. However, you can always change the products.

Adding Shipping Details

You will now need to include the shipping options. You can add the cost and duration to ship the standard, rush, or expedited. Facebook requires that you ship a product within three days of the customer ordering.

After filling out these details, you can add the return policy. Add the number of days that your customers have to return the product. You also have an option to include the customer service email. Remember that these details are mandatory, and you cannot continue setting up your account until you add them.

Add Payout Details

Go to payout on the initial screen and choose Get Started. You can then add the bank details where you want your payment sent. You can choose the category under which you want to sell. For instance, if you are selling running shoes, you can choose your category as clothing or apparel.

If you are in the United States, you should choose the state where you do business on the next page. Add your tax registration number if you already have a physical store in the United States. Under the tax and representation page, you can add the personal details of your business representative. Now, your Facebook page is already set up.

How to Create a Facebook Shop Using an E-commerce Site

If you use an E-commerce platform, it will automatically create a business page for you. Therefore, managing your orders and products from your e-commerce site will be easy when you seamlessly link them to Facebook. Here are the steps to follow when doing that:

1. Link your Facebook account and install apps on your e-commerce site, such as Shopify or WooCommerce.
2. Use your Business Manager Account to log in.
3. Use Commerce Management and a Facebook page.
4. Upload your products in bulk. Alternatively, create Facebook profiles to promote your products
5. Wait for Facebook to approve the store.

Choosing the Right Product to Sell In a Facebook Shop

The product you sell on a Facebook shop can potentially increase your store's success. Here are tips for choosing the right products to sell:

• Select fast-selling items. You must ensure that you select products with the highest potential to sell. You can find the most popular items by researching and reviewing your sales data.
• Easy to ship. Ensure that you are selling visually appealing products that are easy to ship.
• Profit margin. Consider also the profit margin of the product that you plan to sell. While you may be tempted to sell low-priced items to get more customers, ensure you get a good profit margin. When calculating your profit margin, consider the cost of products, shipping fees, and the fees for selling on Facebook.
• Limited edition products. To entice Facebook customers, you can sell products at discounts or in limited editions.
• Target audience. What customer demographics are you targeting, and what products are they likely to buy?

Tips for Creating a Successful Facebook Shop

Now that you understand the process of creating a Facebook page, you may wonder how to make it successful. Here are a few tips:

A Well-organized Product Catalog

If you enter a brick-and-mortar store and find that everything is disorganized, with the jeans, women's, and children's clothes all mixed up, you'll likely leave without buying. The same policy applies in the online world, especially Facebook Shop. No customer will buy from you if you don’t make it easy for them to find what they need.

A product catalog can help you solve this challenge. Ensure that all products have been sorted in catalogs to make it easier for customers to find what they are searching for. Every collection in your catalog should have a description of what customers should expect inside.

Make Good Use of Product Tags

One way of convincing customers to get closer to the buying decision is by demonstrating the product in use. This is one area where product tags can prove helpful. They help customers identify the products and their prices quickly. Therefore, you can post the product in use or its natural environment and drive customers to the shop using product tags.

For instance, instead of posting a picture of a lady's denim, how about posting a well-shaped model wearing it? If it looks good on them, prospective customers will likely be convinced that it will also benefit them.

A Well-streamlined Buying Journey

With the evolving online shopping, customers are searching for convenience. They don't want to keep switching between different platforms or going through a slow checkout process. If you don’t want to reduce your conversion, you should put a well streamlined shopping experience in place.

Luckily, Facebook shops take care of the different stages of a customer's buying journey. The platform, including features like Checkout, Facebook Pay, and Store Integration, ensures that customers remain on the platform.

Best Practices When Using Facebook Shops

Here are a few techniques to help you increase your sales in a Facebook shop:

• Use eye-catching images. Ensure that the product images you're using are eye-catching with a concise description.
• Display your best items. Showcase items that are pretty popular with your target customers.
• Choose a name carefully. Your choice of name should reflect your business and its image.
• Use Facebook features well. Instead of waiting for customers to visit your shop, share your products on other Facebook platforms.
• Engage with customers. Respond to queries fast and encourage customers to leave positive reviews of your products. If you are unresponsive, you will lose a lot of prospective sales. On the other hand, positive reviews will help build trust and credibility for your Facebook shop.
• Track your inventories. You don't want a customer to order an item only for them to realize that it's out of stock. Therefore, regularly update your inventory and add new products. This will ensure that returning customers always find the store fresh.
• Keep reading the comments. When a customer leaves a bad review, find out the reason and ask them what you can do to improve the service. Even when the comments were uncalled for, keep your answers polite. Avoid getting into online fights.
• Use advertising features. Use the Facebook advertising feature to drive traffic to your online shop. Ensure that you also optimize your Facebook advertising.

Examples of Great and Successful Facebook Shops

You can look at these successful Facebook shops to learn from the best.

David Outwear

This men's apparel business focuses on coats, jackets, and accessories. Their primary advertising method is to tag their products in their posts. When potential customers come across their products and scroll down their feeds, they can quickly confirm the price and other details without leaving the platform. This enhances the customer's experience and ensures that the key elements of the customer journey are met.

Vans

If you want to see a Facebook shop with a good layout, Van is one of the best examples. The Shoe brand features a well-organized store with a catalog of different products sorted by color. They also have a fresh product catalog that makes it easy for returning customers to find new products.

MeUndies

This online sleepwear retailer uses Facebook shops to connect with customers and drive traffic to their sites. Their featured products are linked to their Facebook catalog, which includes a link to their site. This way, they get the best of both worlds, as customers can shop on Facebook or their websites.

Final Thoughts

With the continued growth of social shopping, this is one area that businesses should pay a lot of attention to. With Facebook being the largest social media site, the Facebook Shop is one of the areas to focus on. If you are getting started, you can use our detailed guide to create a successful online shop. You can also get tips from the shops we have shared to create an outstanding store. We recommend you also read our guide on going live on Facebook and using the feature for marketing.