Facebook and Shopify announce expanded Beta test for “Buy” button

Social media giant Facebook and e-commerce software company Shopify have announced that they are working together to expand the Facebook Buy button test to include a larger number of small businesses that already work with Shopify. Facebook and Shopify have been testing out the Buy button feature with a few hundred small and medium-sized business for about a year.

The Buy button allows consumers to purchase items they see on their Facebook News Feed or on Pages without leaving Facebook.

The expanded Beta test announced this week will be conducted with only US-based merchants. According to a statement posted on Shopify’s blog on Wednesday (10 June), merchants which are being invited to participate in the test will see a message show up on the Home screen in their Shopify account over the next few weeks.

As previously reported, Google and Pinterest have both shouting about their own new Buy buttons recently – and Facebook wants to make sure that its plans are not being overlooked. Twitter, meanwhile, has been testing a Buy button on its website for a select group of US-based users since September last year. The company seems to have been concentrating mainly on sports goods and tickets for music shows, but it plans to ramp up the service to include a wide variety of products. Twitter may have to pick up the pace if it is to stay within touching distance of its fellow social media players – and also start generating some much needed revenue. Yesterday (11 June), the company announced that Dick Costolo will be stepping down as CEO on 1 July, and Jack Dorsey will double up as Chairman and Interim CEO while the Board searches for a replacement.