6 masterful examples of brands selling on Facebook Shops

A few years ago, we were more selective about when/where we checked out. Today, ecommerce has become an almost daily occurrence—a trend quickly evolving into social commerce.

In 2020, Facebook, Instagram, and Pinterest revamped their shopping tools to help retailers capitalize on this trend. And product-based brands are flocking to this new technology in droves, with 73% of businesses currently selling on social platforms.

In the following paragraphs, we’ll take a look at six examples of notable brands that are taking advantage of Facebook Shops to reduce friction in the buying process and drive sales.

How social commerce is changing the game

Until recently, once we clicked on a product link, we had to first determine if it was secure and then dig up our wallets, pull out our physical credit card, and enter in all the required information before completing a purchase. These days, the advent of tools like ApplePay, PayPal, GooglePay, and others have streamlined the process even further — making the barrier between you and that cute pair of shoes you’ve been eyeing tantalizingly low.

The emergence of social commerce has made this slippery slope even slipperier by infiltrating the online spaces where we spend the majority of our web-surfing hours. A recent survey found that 46% of consumers anticipate using social platforms’ in-app shopping features more this year.

What are Facebook Shops and how do they work?

One of Facebook’s latest features, Shops are free virtual storefronts that allow businesses to streamline the customer experience by either linking them to the business’s existing website or, in the U.S., by enabling checkout directly from Facebook.

Many common ecommerce platforms (e.g., Shopify, OpenCart, GoDaddy, etc.) integrate with Shops, making set up a breeze by allowing brands to quickly import their catalogs. Businesses can then link to products in their content, run sales, and offer assistance via Messenger or WhatsApp.

Sprout’s integrations further simplify the process, helping brands add product links to their content and maximize their reach with organic post targeting.

6 Facebook Shop examples you can learn from

At this point, you might be wondering how you can hop on the bandwagon to expand your reach. Take a cue from the following cutting-edge brands that are making the most of Facebook Shops.

1. David Outwear tags individual products in their in-feed posts

David Outerwear is a men’s clothing retailer, focused on leather jackets, coats and accessories.

They primarily promote their products on Facebook by tagging them in their content. This is a simple, no-frills tactic that any product-based brand can execute.

As potential customers scroll through their feeds, if an image catches their attention, they can quickly ascertain the price and product details without having to leave the platform. Not only does this facilitate a better user experience, but it also pares down the customer journey to the most essential elements.

You can tag featured products when you create a post or retroactively tag them in existing posts. Facebook recommends tagging fewer than five products per image.

2. PinkTag goes live to showcase their products

PinkTag is a Louisville, Kentucky-based online women’s clothing boutique.

They host Facebook Lives several times a week to showcase their products, engage with customers, and offer discounts.

Integrating livestream shopping into your social commerce strategy is a no-brainer for retailers that want to support their customers through the buying process. This option might make sense for your brand if your products are complex, nuanced or especially high-ticket. Engaging with customers in real time gives you the opportunity to address objections, answer questions, and generally highlight your products’ unique selling points.

This format allows brands to create product playlists that customers can interact with to purchase directly from the live-streamed event.

Meta says they expect brands to generate $500 billion in revenue from Live Shopping events by 2023.

3. Rothy’s organizes their Facebook Shops storefront with collections

Rothy’s is a trendy sustainable shoe brand that offers men’s, women’s and children’s styles.

They use collections to organize their robust Facebook Shops product catalog. Collections give brands the opportunity to curate specific, related products to make browsing and buying easier. For high-end brands that want to offer an exceptional customer experience, these sets of featured products can go a long way.

If you’re looking for a way to make your Facebook Shops storefront more user-friendly or feel more like your website-based experience, consider whether you might start using or expand your repertoire of collections.

4. Pixie Mood drives social commerce engagement with tagged video posts.

Pixie Mood is a cruelty-free women’s accessory brand that specializes in vegan leather and other sustainable materials.

They regularly use videos to promote their products in the Facebook feed.

With Facebook Watch, you can share the same kinds of product-centric videos your audience is accustomed to—but with the added benefit of linking viewers directly to the featured-for-sale items.

Video has long been at the top of social media trend lists—and for good reason. It consistently gets the most engagement on Facebook. So why not funnel all those good vibes toward your products?

5. John Lewis & Partners goes grassroots with user-generated content

John Lewis & Partners is a UK-based department store and home decor retailer that regularly shares content created by their audience. User-generated content (UGC) is a significant trend in social media these days, with major brands like Starbucks, Wayfair and others leveraging the power of their customers’ voices to expand their reach and engage their customers authentically.

If you’re looking to increase your audience’s trust in your brand or product, UGC might be the way to go. More than three-quarters of people say they trust content created by “average people” more than content created by brands.

6. MeUndies employs a hybrid approach for featuring products

MeUndies is an online retailer of sleepwear and undergarments for both men and women.

While some brands choose to only link customers from Facebook to their own website to purchase items and others rely exclusively on their Facebook product listings, MeUndies offers the best of both worlds. They link featured products to their Facebook catalog, but also share the associated website URL in their posts.

In doing so, they give customers the option to shop in whichever way feels most organic or comfortable for them. If your brand caters to a wide variety of ages or customers with different levels of tech-savviness, offering both options ensures the best chance of closing a sale.

Follow the lead of some of the best Facebook Shops

As social media shopping expands in popularity and ROI, other social platforms are expected to begin offering their own versions of these social commerce tools. Brands that don’t want to be left playing catch up should ensure they have a strategy in place now. Following the examples of the brands listed above can give you a leg up on the competition.

If your business wants to engage with and convert more customers in the online spaces they organically occupy, Facebook Shops should be a major component of your strategy. When you’re ready to execute, learn how Sprout can help by uniting your social, commerce and customer care workflows all in one place.