The "like" button may not always do justice for the high esteem in which some Facebook users hold products advertised on the social media network, but a "buy" button just might.
Foregoing a "love" button, Facebook is testing out a "buy" option that allows users to purchase goods and services directly from merchant listings on the social network.
The "buy" button will reportedly appear under the sponsored ads that intermingle with status updates and memes posted by friends in Facebook newsfeeds. So far, only a handful of small and midsize businesses were said to have been selected to test drive the new feature.
Debra Aho, EMarketer analyst, said the button, in the minds of merchants, will shift from the idea of Facebook as an "awareness" platform to a sales opportunity.
"With this step, Facebook is becoming even more firmly established as a major player in direct response advertising, and though this test is still only a test, it's a definite sign that Facebook wants to restart its efforts to become an e-commerce company as well," said Aho.
For individuals wary of Facebook, especially after its controversial mood study, the social networking company promised to protect the financial data that passes through its site.
"We've built this feature with privacy in mind, and have taken steps to help make the payment experience safe and secure," Facebook stated. "None of the credit or debit card information people share with Facebook when completing a transaction will be shared with other advertisers, and people can select whether or not they'd like to save payment information for future purchases."
The move to implement the buy feature will help Facebook continue to gain ground on Google in ad dollars earned. Facebook's piece of the global ad pie grew from 5.8 percent in 2013 to 7.8 percent in 2014, although Google and its 31.5 percent slice likely still has the social networking site hungering for much more.
As Facebook still searches for means to monetize it Messenger app, it may have struck gold with the new buy button. Despite the distrust of the social networking site and its policies, users still rely heavily on the website for news and information on their social networks and the world at large.
Having the buy button available, and finally giving in to the buy button's pleas to store financial data, users could find themselves regularly making impulse buys between conversations with friends and offering opinions on the latest viral media.
