Blog: How retailers are using Facebook Collections

Facebook is trying a new feature to enable retailers to highlight and sell products. Facebook Collections, which is being tested in the US, allows retailers to upload photos and create albums of products, which are then overlaid with new actions. The new actions allow users to want, like and collect items from the retailer’s collection.

The ‘want’ button adds a product to the user’s wish list, and the ‘collect’ button saves to the user’s own collection, called ‘products’.

The Collections are visible via Facebook’s news feed and are designed to enable users to browse photos and share items.

The products will be embedded with a buy feature, meaning that the popularity of the products can be used to drive sales.

If it is rolled out to the UK, the function means retailers can use Facebook in a similar way to Pinterest, which many retailers have used to successfully drive sales. Seven retailers are signed up so far in the US, including Victoria’s Secret and Pottery Barn.