Facebook store owners in Malaysia do not seem to use the e-commerce apps on Facebook, but they just make stores out of their own personal pages. This article gives a clue as to why this is so... everything boils down to $$$ and the boutique owners just want to cut costs.
Questions:
1. Do small entrepreneurs view Facebook as a no-cost online retail option that is similar to what blogs provide?
2. Are the characteristics of FB stores similar to those of blogshop businesses for Malaysian and Singaporean microentrepreneurs?
From http://marketing.about.com/od/socialmediamarketing/a/Social-Commerce-With-Facebook-Stores.htm
Social Commerce with Facebook Stores
Three Popular Facebook Store Options
By Laura Lake, About.com Guide
Facebook reports most visited website on the internet beating out Google for the first time. Obviously as merchants and online marketers we are trying to capture this traffic. I've never been one to promote "selling" via Facebook. I've always viewed those online using Facebook are more than likely not sitting there with their credit card in hand, but my thoughts on this are changing. Facebook has the ability to segment and market in a way that most websites can't. You can really target your marketing message to those that
would have an interest in your product or service.
Marketing on Facebook is advancing daily and the latest and my most favorite tool today is the Facebook stores. What is a Facebook store? A Facebook store is where businesses can incorporate a shop within their Facebook Fan Page. I love this idea. It makes the most sense. A Facebook user doesn't have to leave their beloved Facebook to purchase an item. It's convenient, easy and targeted.
Now, with that being said let me say that there are options that are inexpensive and others that come in on the pricey side. Price tends to be determined on whether you want users to be able to purchase within Facebook or seamlessly leave Facebook to purchase directly from your online store on your website. I lean towards the store that allows users to purchase directly from Facebook, but being the first Holiday season that this feature seems to be available I'm hesitate to sink a lot of cash - I'd much rather try the inexpensive route to measure the return on investment before sinking a large amount of my budget in something that really lacks case studies to show the effectiveness. I may be the only one who thinks this way and because of that I've pulled in rates for 3 different companies that offer Facebook store options, so that you can decide what works best for you.
ShopFans
I must admit from the look of ShopFans by Adgregrate Market I thought I had found the premier Facebook store, but digging a little deeper proved me wrong. Their showcase store StyleQ was not operational, every time I tried to view the store it would not connect. Surprisingly today I could finally access it. I love the way it looks and I'm impressed with the capability to not only shop via the ShopFan store, but being able to checkout without ever leaving Facebook is equally impressive. ShopFan works very different from the other two I've showcased for you, they price off a production fee plus they want a revenue share. They were not very eager to tell me their pricing and I was a bit put off by their lack of helpfulness - guess they don't need any customers.
Summary: Great model, but lacked the customer service that I desire when it comes to vendors. If you just want a great store and don't care about service I'd select them, but make sure they give you some type of guarantee regarding the functionality of your store. If I was not researching stores I would have given up the first time StyleQ didn't connect.
Milyoni, Inc (Million Eye)
I must admit this was the hardest business name to not only remember, but to pronounce before seeing the phonetics guide. I won't judge them on their branding, because that's not what this article is about. Milyoni offers great looking Facebook stores that allow your fans to checkout right on Facebook. The problem I had with them is you have to drive your customers to an application within Facebook the store is not embedded into your own FanPage. This in my opinion is not optimal. A downfall, but I'd still consider them a great option as long as you think that sending users to an application won't confuse them. An example of their Facebook store is the UFC Fan Shop. They can have your Facebook store setup in as little as 3 days and their customer service was very helpful in answering my questions. This option is still a tad pricey, but my instincts tell me they are more than likely significantly less than ShopFans. You can expect to pay a fee ranging from $2200 to $15,000 plus a 5% transaction fee. Pricing is based on number of fans, number of payment options, features and support levels.
Summary: Still a bit on the pricey side and not sure whether or not leading users to an application outside of your Facebook fan page is the best option. I do think they provide better customer service based on my own experience when compared to ShopFans, but just be sure it's the best economic decision for your business.
ShopTab
ShopTab seems to be the easiest and most cost effective to setup, but I do struggle with the fact that ShopTab takes your fans off of Facebook and onto your own ecommerce website to checkout. I don't think this is a deal breaker especially if you are just starting out and want to see whether the return on investment is worth having a Facebook store. My biggest concern is that you may see a drop in conversion with the transition from Facebook to your own store, but for a solution ranging from $10 to $20 per month it could be worth the risk to try a Facebook store without sinking a lot of cash. ShopTab bases their pricing on the number of products. Their $20 option can handle up to 3000 products. An example of the ShopTab store is Aleratec.
Summary: I'm not thrilled with moving users from Facebook to another website to purchase, but the price is worth the risk to see if your users would be intrigued enough on Facebook to purchase via your ecommerce site. The risk is low here and it will give you a general idea on whether or not your users are interested in merchandised products via Facebook.
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