Article

Retailers' venture into F-commerce is an uphill battle

Overcoming security and privacy issues and defining value are major challenges. 

June 2, 2011 by Kim Williams — Reporter, NetWorld Alliance

Apparel retailer Express launched a Facebook e-commerce tab last month that allows consumers to make purchases from the store's complete catalog without being redirected to the company's website. Whether or not "fans" are ready to blur the lines between social networking and shopping remains to be seen.

Among the major immediate concerns expressed by potential Facebook shoppers and industry experts are privacy and security issues.

"I would browse Facebook for an item, but I don't believe I would actually purchase through it. Facebook still seems a little unstable with its security," said Facebook user Roxane Kays, 53, from Midlothian, Va.

Similarly, Forrest Muss, 31, of Louisville, Ky. expressed his concern with security, but is not opposed to shopping through Facebook if those issues were resolved.

"If Paypal protection was implemented, I would shop for shoes," Muss said.
 
Doug Fleener, president and managing partner of Dynamic Experiences Group LLC, a retail and customer experience firm that works with retailers and other customer-focused companies, said that from a user's point of view, security and privacy are definitely big issues right now. A prompt that asks the user to remove the secure connection before proceeding in order to properly view the merchandise strikes him immediately. 

"For a brief moment, I have to decide how bad I want to do this, and I decided I didn't want to that bad," Fleener said. "From a technical standpoint, that is something they will have to overcome."

JCPenney has had the shopping within Facebook option since December and also offers a seemingly less than secure experience, but issues relating to privacy and security are simply a drop in the bucket that could be, and eventually will be, remedied with relative ease.

"We're asking people to change their mindsets about what Facebook is," Fleener said. "The same people that are saying they have privacy concerns are probably the same people who have no problems clicking a link, opening a new tab in their browser. The broader issue is that people have compartmentalized social media and online shopping."

Shopper participation depends on experience, engagement

Fleener said what is more important is that the retailers communicate the benefits of shopping through a  Facebook page, otherwise there doesn't seem to be an appealing difference between it and the company's website.

"I think we're really in the early phase, but if I was a retailer with lots of resources, I wouldn't hesitate to test it," Fleener said. "But I don't think we're ready for primetime, that's for sure."

Mike Wittenstein, a customer experience consultant specializing in branding and customer service, said JCPenney and Express lost ground by not talking about their position on social media with their customers before launching the tabs.

"They didn't say anything on their websites' homepages about 'Hey, we're doing something really cool on Facebook. What do you think? Come along for the ride with us.' They missed that opportunity," Wittenstein said.

The other misstep Wittenstein said the companies made was just sticking a shopping website into the Facebook page.

"They needed to social media-ize it for collaborative shopping. If you could share the things you purchased, and unlike Amazon, separate your interests from the things you'd give as a gift, wouldn't that make recommendations smarter?" Wittenstein said. "What if you could see when other people were online and invite them to shop with you?"

Wittenstein said he didn't see any innovation, just piles of merchandise, which begs the question: How is this Facebook shopping experience any different from shopping on the company's website?

"It's up to the retailers to define a new retail shopping experience that creates value for their customers. They need to help them enjoy the journey, connect with friends and feel more secure about buying the right things. They need to add the experience," Wittenstein said.

Fleener agreed, adding that for the time being retailers' focus is still driving customers to the brick-and-mortar locations, where the real customer experiences and brand differentiations are happening.

"Retailers we work with find that customers like hearing about events, products and promotions and see things going on in the stores through social media, but when it comes down to outright trying to sell a product, retailers find that it gets the least amount of response," Fleener said.

While the response may not be significant just yet, retailers certainly shouldn't discount a shopping channel that connects them with Facebook's more than 500 million users, nor should they ignore the users like Seth Cohen, 58, from Cupertino, Calif.

"I have absolutely no qualms [about shopping retailers' Facebook pages] and in fact, if I could just register once with Facebook and use their virtual currency to pay for real goods, then that would be nirvana," Cohen said.