Facebook Shopping Cart – wait for Facebook Payment platform      

Smart idea that was already implemented by number of businesses.
It is simple FB Fan page with e-commerce store system. Basicaly your online FB shopping website is not part of facebook itself, but part of your fan page as iframe from diffrent location (e.g. your website). It just need some adjustments and cross-call-back-functions (e.g. user authentication) etc and it is ready to go.

Such statement “has launched an e-commerce store inside its Facebook Page.” is correct, but “has launched an e-commerce store inside Facebook” would be wrong. What is the diffrence? Content of that e-commerce store is elsewere then facebook, also check-out system.

But what is more interesting in this area is gossip that Facebook is planing to implement internet-wide payment platform. And that is something all online marketers should be aware of as itMIGHT revolutionalize all aspects of online shopping. Same what google did for search engines, such platform might be facebook biggest invention.

You may know that the company is working on something it calls Facebook Credits (it’s in beta). You can buy Facebook Credits with a credit card or Paypal, and then use these credits as a currency when buying virtual items from applications on the Facebook platform (Facebook apps). A number of apps already use it.

Credits + Facebook Connect = Payment platform

source: http://royal.pingdom.com/2010/03/01/is-facebook-secretly-planning-an-internet-wide-payment-platform/

Can you imagine that purchases based with social interactions? Like what Mr A bought will be visible to his friends (if he chooses that visibility)? Future of online shopping.

You can skip all the multiple registrations, entering credit card details, and trust issues.  All the nightmares of online shopping can be resolved by one solid FB payment platform. It could outrank PayPal, Amazon and eBay in long term if done properly. With all the abilities Facebook has (including their 500 million potent ional shoppers) it might be ….

Combine that with shopping by taking picture of bar code (as in Tesco Grocery Shopping App), and maybe app that automaticaly compares prices and you can imagine not such far away future of online shopping.

some demos of websites using FB shopping: http://www.facebookvendor.com/clients/