Sellers unfazed as Facebook scraps live shopping feature
A decision by Facebook to scrap its live shopping feature in October is unlikely to take a heavy toll on e-commerce in Thailand where sellers have not significantly counted on this function for their sales,according to industry pundits.
Facebook owner Meta said “Facebook Live Shopping” will be taken down from Oct 1.
Users can still use Facebook Live to broadcast live events, but will not be able to create product playlists or tag products in their Facebook Live videos, it said.
“As consumers’ viewing behaviours are shifting to short-form video, we are shifting our focus to Reels on Facebook and Instagram, Meta’s short-form video product,” Meta’s statement read.
However, the company urged vendors to try experimenting with Reels and Reels ads on Facebook and Instagram to pursue customer engagement.
Pawoot Pongvitayapanu, chief executive and founder of Tarad.com, a local e-commerce solution provider, said Thai sellers rarely tag their products on live videos. They mostly use third-party software to support their online sales.
Mr Pawoot said Facebook Live Shopping with tagging products is not popular in Thailand.
“It is now a growing trend that merchants and brands are seeking to have multiple online sales channels as well as their own one to boost their product sales,” said Mr Pawoot.
Short-form video platform TikTok is now also catering for e-commerce but it is still in the early stage of development, he said. Read More…
