The Facebook Gifts event in New York City was cancelled due to Hurricane Sandy a few weeks ago, and rescheduled for a later date (last night).
Hosted at FAO Schwarz, a big announcement was made at the Facebook Gifts Event: There are now far more retail partners involved, which means even more gifts to send to friends.
Lee Linden, head of product for Facebook Gifts, kicked off the event and had others come on stage to talk about the new partnerships. Users will be able to buy and receive gifts from a number of new companies in a few weeks such as Hulu, Pandora, Rdio, Fab, Dean Deluca, Brookstone, Lindt, L’Occitane, Baby Gap, Random House, NARS Cosmetics, and ProFlowers.
For wine lovers, there was also a special surprise. In just a few weeks, you’ll also be able to buy or receive wine thanks to Robert Mondavi Winery and Chandon Winery, 21 and older of course.
Facebook Gifts is getting closer to becoming a true e-commerce platform of sorts with now hundreds of partners selling thousands of different gifts. Just two weeks ago, it was announced that users could also donate to a select number of charities on the behalf of friends.
To get more people to buy gifts for their friends’ birthdays, alerts on both the Android and iOS app may help with that. For the longest time, many have questioned if the social network could ever truly sell products from other companies.
After all, it’s known for interacting with friends and family, not buying things. However, this is a step in the right direction, and the success of Facebook Gifts will determine the future of e-commerce and whether it will become a new and profitable revenue stream.
0 Comments