Brafton has reported that the leading social network is focusing on its ecommerce options this year. The company took a step in that direction this week, announcing new social shopping options for users who purchase in-game virtual goods with Facebook Credits.
Facebook Credits are the company's internal currency that can be purchased with credit cards or via PayPal. Users can put the Credits toward the purchase of virtual goods in a variety of Facebook games developed by the social site's partners.
The company is now offering users an incentive to make in-app purchases by enabling them to share discounts with friends on the site. When users make a purchase, they can share this news with friends via their news feeds and offer pals a discount for the same purchase. For marketers who offer virtual goods on Facebook, this means recent purchases are going to be advertised to users' friends, and the “buy with friends” feature also increases the likelihood that friends of buyers will engage with branded games.
Facebook says, “more than half of people who were offered a deal in-game decided to share it with their friends, and the engagement and conversion rates on the resulting posts were also strong.”
The network is also launching “frictionless payments.” This service allows users to make instant payments for virtual goods under $30, and the opportunity to buy virtual goods without interrupting their game time has demonstrated “positive results” already, according to Facebook.
While these developments will only benefit brands that offer virtual goods in Facebook games, more social ecommerce developments from Facebook are likely ahead. Moreover, marketers might consider creating branded products that cater to Facebook gamers. As Brafton has reported, the virtual goods market is proven to generate real dollars for businesses, and eMarketer reports that the social gaming market will surpass $1 billion this year.
