E-commerce Within Facebook: a Fad or a Channel Shift?

This week, Apple launched their App store inside Facebook. It’s a nifty little system enabling Facebook users to see top apps and to search the vast app database.

But does this really provide utility for consumers? Would you prefer to search for apps within Facebook, rather than on apple.com or directly via iTunes? Personally, I would use iTunes, but is this indicative of a larger movement? Is Apple spearheading a new paradigm for commerce? Will more brands adopt Facebook as a channel to drive sales?

Below are two other examples of brands that have dabbled with Facebook as an e-commerce platform.

1-800-Flowers

Their novel Flash based system is basically a condensed version of their own website. I haven’t gone through purchasing a product, but giving it a cursory run-through, it’s pretty straightforward, although the Flash interface can be rather clunky at times. A frustrating aspect, however, is that you have to be a “fan” to be able to use the system. Why add that as a hurdle?

Pizza Hut

Pizza Hut has an ordering application, which lets you place a pizza order within Facebook. Though, before you can actually order, you first have to install the Facebook application and also create an account. That said, I think this could be the perfect application for those Facebook users who habitually get lost in time browsing friends’ profiles and wind up craving a late night pizza.

I admire these examples. These brands are testing the waters. However, if I was a brand manager, I would be cautious before jumping on the good old bandwagon. There are a few problem areas with Facebook as a sales platform, namely:

It’s limited
One is inherently confined within the Facebook framework, which limits screen real estate, design and technology.

It’s a third party
If Facebook changes their code base, some of your functionality might go down.

There is a potential trust issue
Do users really trust completing a transaction within Facebook? With identity and credit card theft at epidemic levels, will they trust Facebook security?

This month Facebook topped Google as the #1 trafficked site in the US. In other words, it is beyond question that Facebook is a great platform for brands, but is it the perfect place to drive sales? Not at this point. Facebook is not currently set up to be an e-commerce platform. If Facebook starts tailoring their framework more for commerce, and if consumers start trusting Facebook as a reliable and user-friendly platform, there will be a seismic channel shift, but now, it’s too early to tell.