Facebook changing e-business

Over the years, Facebook has grown into much more than a social network, including a place to shop. More and more brands are placing product listings on their Facebook Pages,

A true phenomenon

Doron Simovitch, co-Founder, President, and CEO of comparison shopping site Sortprice, which has a Facebook application for product listings that recently surpassed 1,000 stores.

We asked if it is an exaggeration to say Facebook is going to change the face of e-commerce. "We don't think it's an exaggeration at all," replied Simovitch. "Facebook is now the most-trafficked website in the country, with an audience of hundreds of millions of people that is growing every day. That's an enormous base of potential customers that cannot be ignored by online retailers. And they're not. More and more retailers are experimenting with tools to reach these Facebook users, and incorporate social networking into their operations overall."

We also wonder if Facebook's enormous popularity, and the e-commerce potential that comes along with it has the ability to threaten search engines as the preferred way to find products to purchase.

"As more people learn about shopping opportunities on Facebook, the more they'll start to look at it as a viable means of shopping online," Simovitch said. "That being said however, no one will ever confuse Facebook for a shopping-only resource and thus, it's not a threat to shopping search engines."

Perhaps it will help Facebook continue to boost its share of the search market.

"We think of it more as an alternative or even something retailers can use in conjunction with their existing shopping portals," he said. "The interactive nature of Facebook is what makes it such a good complimentary tool for retailers--they can offer users the ability to build product wishlists that their Facebook friends can comment on, as well as give shoppers access to product reviews and images. Some of our merchants have run contests or giveaways through their Facebook fan/store pages as well. It really enhances the research side of shopping online in a constructive and even fun way."

Did you try BigCommerce, who just launched another Facebook e-commerce app called SocialShop. Have you tried either of these products or other similar apps? Which do you prefer? Is listing products on Facebook worth your time?