Introduction:
Though it has given up on live shopping on Facebook and Instagram, Meta is still excited about its apps’ potential as an online marketplace. This leads us to today’s news: the firm and Amazon are working together to allow consumers to shop via Meta and Amazon Team by connecting their Amazon and Facebook accounts. This enables customers to check out and have their items shipped to the Amazon postal address they have saved using their protected payment information.
TechCrunch was informed by an Amazon spokesperson, Callie Jernigan, that “for the first time, customers will be able to shop Amazon’s Facebook and Instagram ads and check out with Amazon without leaving the social media apps.” “U.S. customers will see real-time pricing, Prime eligibility, delivery estimates, and product details on select Amazon product ads on Facebook and Instagram,” she continued, describing the improved experience.
Furthermore, Amazon declared that the new in-app shopping feature will be available for specific products advertised on Facebook or Instagram and sold by Amazon or independent merchants on Amazon’s marketplace.
Customers only need to complete a quick one-time setup to link their Amazon account to their Meta account (Facebook or Instagram). After that, consumers may complete their purchase right from the Amazon product ad without ever leaving the Facebook or Instagram app. Their default mailing address and Amazon payment information will be used to finish the transaction.
Maurice Rahmey, a partner at Meta and Google Ads and co-CEO of Disruptive Digital, was the first to disclose transaction details. In a LinkedIn post, he detailed the benefits of the collaboration, emphasizing that Meta will gain from better targeting and optimization by showing clients ads based on information from Amazon and merchants that provide Buy with Prime.
Faster checkout times for customers could increase conversion rates. Furthermore, Meta will be able to change other data as needed, such as delivery time estimates or real-time pricing, and alter the advertisement’s messaging and product page based on the user’s Prime membership status.
Rahmey states, “While additional details are still scarce, this partnership could be a massive revenue opportunity for Meta, Amazon, and most importantly, advertisers.” Rahmey predicts that while Meta will see an increase in traceable conversions and ad signals, Amazon will see a rise in transactions from major discovery platforms.
In addition, Rahmeny said, “This also overcomes any difficulties with Apple’s App Tracking Transparency rules, meaning a genuine closed loop performance engine, because of the shared data of this partnership.”
Meta and Amazon Team up on new in-app Shopping:
Meta and Amazon Team up on new in-app Shopping (Image Source: techcrunch.com)
Meta has opposed Apple’s App Tracking Transparency, or ATT, since the privacy feature was first revealed in 2021, claiming it will hurt small businesses relying on its personalized ads.
As part of other e-commerce operations, Meta has been pushing its Shop sellers to use its Facebook and Instagram checkout process. Except for stores powered by Shopify, Meta charges processing fees for those sales. Because Amazon processes payments under this new agreement, Meta won’t change processing rates in this particular instance.
Additionally benefiting from this new pact is Amazon. The enormous e-commerce business has made several attempts to create copies of well-known social media apps, such as Instagram and TikTok. However, these initiatives have never really taken off.
After discontinuing its Instagram-like Spark service in 2019, it released a TikTok-like retail feed at the end of 2018 that lets users post videos and photos. All American subscribers to Inspire were able to access the service in May. But compared to TikTok, Inspire appears more commercialized because it requires more influencer marketing to increase revenues.
When TikTok acts as an online storefront and search engine to compete with Amazon, this is known as the Meta-Amazon agreement. With the launch of TikTok Shop, which went online in the U.S. in September, TikTok now has access to over 150 million users. Despite Amazon’s size and power, it is a severe threat, particularly in light of TikTok’s influence among younger Millennial and Gen Z (and even, to some extent, Gen Alpha) consumers.
