Confirmed: Facebook Expanding Gift Shop to Include Virtual and Physical Goods from Developers Tonight
We’ve covered the evolution of Facebook’s virtual gifts extensively on Inside Facebook over the last couple of years, but tonight we’re hearing that Facebook is about to start testing a major new expansion to the Gift Shop that will integrate items from third party developers. The move will expand Facebook’s merchant platform beyond the “Pay with Facebook” tests that are running inside a few applications and, for the first time, integrate a variety of third party virtual gifts into the Facebook Gift Shop. In addition, for the first time, Facebook users will be able to purchase physical merchandise in the Gift Shop with Facebook Credits.
Facebook has just confirmed the test to us, saying that the changes will go live for a limited number of users tonight. Four developers are part of the initial program: American Greetings Interactive, GreetBeatz, Someecards, and Real Gifts.
Here’s how it will work: gifts created by developers will be integrated into the Facebook Gift Shop alongside regular Facebook virtual gifts, marked with the developer’s logo or icon. In the case of virtual gifts, the price will usually be 10 Facebook Credits or USD $1, the same price as most virtual gifts created by Facebook. However, physical gifts – for instance, say a dozen roses – might cost up to 500 Facebook Credits, or USD $50. When users select a physical gift, they’ll be prompted to enter the delivery address in line, just like in a traditional shopping cart experience.
While Facebook says the launch is still a test, we think it’s indicative of Facebook’s desires to develop a much more robust merchant platform. Between the Gift Shop and payment service for developers, Facebook is in the unique position to build a robust commerce business and simultaneously create powerful new monetization opportunities for developers. And because all items in the Facebook Gift Shop are purchased with Facebook Credits, a growing gifts business expands the footprint of Facebook’s virtual currency, which is also used in Facebook’s application payments service.
When reached for comment, a Facebook spokesperson issued us the following statement:
“Yes, I can confirm that Facebook is making some changes to the Gift Shop that are expected to launch tonight. As we continue to provide users news ways to share with their friends around birthdays and special occasions, we are conducting a test in which third party developers will be able to offer virtual gifts in the Facebook Gift Shop. This initial test is being conducted with a limited number of users and American Greetings Interactive, GreetBeatz, Someecards, and Real Gifts will provide gifts. We will share additional details of this program as they become available.”
All in all, we expect developers to be very excited by the opportunity to participate in Facebook’s Gift Shop for the first time. The sheer volume of users that Facebook has the potential to distribute premium content and merchandise to should be very attractive to any developer hoping to monetize through virtual gifts. In addition, it will be very interesting to see how sales of physical items within the Facebook Gift Shop go – this will be the first time Facebook has so heavily integrated physical goods for sale into the native Facebook experience.
Finally, Facebook’s decision to open up the Gift Shop to third parties should present significant opportunities to those with licenses of popular brands. For example, just last week, Facebook launched a special set of Britney Spears-themed virtual gifts for 20 Facebook Credits (USD $2) each. We expect to see more tests like these as Facebook further opens up the Gift Shop in the weeks and months ahead.
August 19th, 2009 at 9:53 pm
[...] to Inside Facebook, today marks the start of Facebook offerings gifts created by outside developers into the Facebook [...]
August 19th, 2009 at 10:00 pm
[...] to Inside Facebook, today marks the start of Facebook offerings gifts created by outside developers into the Facebook [...]
August 19th, 2009 at 10:20 pm
[...] to Inside Facebook, today marks the start of Facebook offerings gifts created by outside developers into the Facebook [...]
August 19th, 2009 at 11:33 pm
anyone know how applications can ISSUE facebook Credits? or if that is only a FB bank thing?
August 19th, 2009 at 11:54 pm
Martin, only Facebook is issuing Facebook credits at the moment. And only apps in the “Pay with Facebook” payments test can redeem them.
August 19th, 2009 at 11:59 pm
[...] Confirmed: Facebook Expanding Gift Shop to Include Virtual and Physical Goods from Developers Tonigh… [...]
August 20th, 2009 at 12:28 am
[...] to Inside Facebook, today marks the start of Facebook offerings gifts created by outside developers into the Facebook [...]
August 20th, 2009 at 12:42 am
[...] to Inside Facebook, today marks the start of Facebook offerings gifts created by outside developers into the Facebook [...]
August 20th, 2009 at 1:25 am
[...] to Inside Facebook, today marks the start of Facebook offerings gifts created by outside developers into the Facebook [...]
August 20th, 2009 at 2:48 am
[...] Facebook has so heavily integrated physical goods for sale into the native Facebook experience. [InsideFacebook] Share this on del.icio.usDigg this!Share this on RedditBuzz up!Stumble upon something good? [...]
August 20th, 2009 at 4:36 am
[...] to Inside Facebook, today marks the start of Facebook offerings gifts created by outside developers into the Facebook [...]
August 20th, 2009 at 7:05 am
[...] | InsideFacebook Condividi questo [...]
August 20th, 2009 at 7:20 am
[...] börjar sälja fysiska varor Posted in Utveckling by Johan on 20 augusti 2009 Det här är stort. Facebook har bekräftat att de ikväll kommer att börja rulla ut en uppdaterad version [...]
August 20th, 2009 at 7:36 am
The offering of physical gifts is a development. I rarely visited the gift shop but now that it’s moving away from being strictly virtual I see it piquing much more interest.
Ryan
August 20th, 2009 at 8:09 am
[...] to Inside Facebook, today marks the start of Facebook offerings gifts created by outside developers into the Facebook [...]
August 20th, 2009 at 8:30 am
I have a question. From what I’ve read, it seems that it is only possible for the limited developers to take part in the Virtual Market using Facebook Credits correct? Is it possible to have a app developed that uses “Pay with Facebook” features?
August 20th, 2009 at 9:32 am
[...] Facebook’s Justin Smith broke news last night that some Facebook users can now buy virtual and physical gifts from third-party vendors using [...]
August 20th, 2009 at 11:23 am
Selling REAL gift items seems like a great idea!
There usually is money to be made in that type of salesmanship.
August 20th, 2009 at 1:05 pm
[...] Confirmed: Facebook Expanding Gift Shop to Include Virtual and Physical Goods from Developers Tonigh… [...]
August 20th, 2009 at 2:02 pm
[...] Confirmed: Facebook Expanding Gift Shop to Include Virtual and Physical Goods from Developers Tonigh…, Inside Facebook [...]
August 20th, 2009 at 3:17 pm
[...] The web has been waiting for this concept to come. Earlier this year, Facebook was rumored to begin testing a payments system that would compete with entities like PayPal and Google Checkout. Then they hired none other than Prashant Fuloria, former Director of Product Management for Google Checkout. Inside Facebook’s Justin Smith reports: [...]
August 20th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
Thomas, both the Gift Shop and Pay with Facebook programs are in limited testing with a few developers at the moment.
August 20th, 2009 at 4:40 pm
[...] The web has been waiting for this concept to come. Earlier this year, Facebook was rumored to begin testing a payments system that would compete with entities like PayPal and Google Checkout. Then they hired none other than Prashant Fuloria, former Director of Product Management for Google Checkout. Inside Facebook’s Justin Smith reports: [...]
August 20th, 2009 at 4:58 pm
[...] The web has been waiting for this concept to come. Earlier this year, Facebook was rumored to begin testing a payments system that would compete with entities like PayPal and Google Checkout. Then they hired none other than Prashant Fuloria, former Director of Product Management for Google Checkout. Inside Facebook’s Justin Smith reports: [...]
August 20th, 2009 at 5:03 pm
[...] to Inside Facebook, today marks the start of Facebook offerings gifts created by outside developers into the Facebook [...]
August 20th, 2009 at 5:20 pm
though a part of me can’t believe people actually purchase virtual goods (e.g. virtual flowers), i’m also amazed at how Facebook has turned into an internet within an internet.
August 20th, 2009 at 6:52 pm
I can’t wait to check out the API for this. We can integrate it to the Shipwire fulfillment API http://www.shipwire.com/api and then any merchant that wants to sell on Facebook can automate fulfillment post purchase.
Just like we do for Google Checkout and PayPal.
Cool.
Nate
Shipwire Product Fulfillment
http://www.shipwire.com/trial
August 21st, 2009 at 7:50 am
[...] to Inside Facebook, the social networking site is testing a major expansion to its Gift Shop, allowing items from [...]
August 21st, 2009 at 12:07 pm
[...] We’ve all seen Facebook’s virtual gift shop: for little to no money, you can send a friend a “gift”—an image to display on his/her profile. Though it often features deals and promotions with other brands, the gift shop app is owned and run by Facebook. But now the gift shop will be testing with developers and physical and virtual goods. [...]
August 21st, 2009 at 4:48 pm
[...] We’ve all seen Facebook’s virtual gift shop: for little to no money, you can send a friend a “gift”—an image to display on his/her profile. Though it often features deals and promotions with other brands, the gift shop app is owned and run by Facebook. But now the gift shop will be testing with developers and physical and virtual goods. [...]
August 21st, 2009 at 5:25 pm
[...] We’ve all seen Facebook’s virtual gift shop: for little to no money, you can send a friend a “gift”—an image to display on his/her profile. Though it often features deals and promotions with other brands, the gift shop app is owned and run by Facebook. But now the gift shop will be testing with developers and physical and virtual goods. [...]
August 21st, 2009 at 8:34 pm
[...] is most to move investigating a field newborn treatment to … Originally posted here: Confirmed: Facebook Expanding Gift Shop to Include Virtual and … Posted in Gifts, Uncategorized | Tags: covered-the-evolution, evolution, facebook, inside, [...]
August 21st, 2009 at 10:48 pm
[...] We’ve all seen Facebook’s virtual gift shop: for little to no money, you can send a friend a “gift”—an image to display on his/her profile. Though it often features deals and promotions with other brands, the gift shop app is owned and run by Facebook. But now the gift shop will be testing with developers and physical and virtual goods. [...]
August 22nd, 2009 at 12:02 am
[...] is all very interesting. Just a while ago Inside Facebook wrote about how Facebook is expanding its Gift Shop. A thing like Facebook gift may sound again a bit stupid. “Who even buys those silly [...]
August 22nd, 2009 at 9:02 am
[...] to Inside Facebook, today marks the start of Facebook offerings gifts created by outside developers into the Facebook [...]
August 22nd, 2009 at 9:24 am
[...] revenue, it’s the fourth largest site in the world, and it grew twice as fast as Twitter in July. New revenue streams (such as ‘real gifts’) loom on the horizon. Still, the firm’s $100 million program that allows employees to cash out up [...]
August 24th, 2009 at 12:29 am
[...] but undeterred, social networking leader Facebook is expanding its potential to make money by selling virtual and physical goods in its gift shop. The company is running tests which allow users to [...]
August 24th, 2009 at 7:28 am
[...] Confirmed: Facebook Expanding Gift Shop to Include Virtual and Physical Goods from Developers Tonigh… for the first time, Facebook users will be able to purchase physical merchandise in the Gift Shop with Facebook Credits. [...]
August 24th, 2009 at 10:31 am
[...] handful of gift and greeting card companies have affiliated withFacebook to roll out a makeover of the site’s “gifts” feature. Previously, $1 would buy a gift which could be sent to a friend, but now, the changes will add [...]
August 24th, 2009 at 5:44 pm
[...] to Inside Facebook, today marks the start of Facebook offerings gifts created by outside developers into the Facebook [...]
August 26th, 2009 at 10:04 pm
[...] to Roman Pixell, CEO, EmotiCards will get onboard the Facebook virtual currency coming soon, as working with a mobile integration and an iphone app. My immediate question about [...]
August 28th, 2009 at 3:42 am
[...] to Inside Facebook, today marks the start of Facebook offerings gifts created by outside developers into the Facebook [...]
August 28th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
[...] blog Inside Facebook reported last week that four online gift and greeting companies–American Greetings Interactive, GreetBeatz, [...]
August 29th, 2009 at 5:48 am
[...] blog Inside Facebook reported last week that four online gift and greeting companies–American Greetings Interactive, GreetBeatz, [...]
August 31st, 2009 at 11:19 am
[...] Still, increased direct sales from social networks may eventually occur, especially considering Facebook’s upcoming virtual currency and 1-800-FLOWERS’ commerce integration with [...]
August 31st, 2009 at 12:57 pm
[...] revenue, it’s the fourth largest site in the world, and it grew twice as fast as Twitter in July. New revenue streams (such as ‘real gifts’) loom on the horizon. Still, the firm’s $100 million program that allows employees to cash out up [...]
September 3rd, 2009 at 9:24 pm
[...] to Inside Facebook, today marks the start of Facebook offerings gifts created by outside developers into the Facebook [...]
September 7th, 2009 at 4:37 am
[...] בצמרת – אבל המצב עשוי בהחלט להשתנות בקרוב, עם השקת "הארנק הוירטואלי" של פייסבוק. אפליקציית פייסבוק קונקט שמשולבת באתרי סחר [...]
September 8th, 2009 at 4:53 am
[...] – אבל המצב עשוי בהחלט להשתנות בקרוב, במיוחד לקראת השקת "הארנק הוירטואלי" של [...]
September 10th, 2009 at 12:29 am
more gifts to come
September 23rd, 2009 at 6:53 pm
I really like the “real” gift idea’s but would like to see an option for the person receiving the gift to be able to opt out if they don’t want the gift or change the address if they are visiting relatives or would like to receive their gift at work. Just a thought.
September 23rd, 2009 at 6:54 pm
Would like to see gifts that can be emailed such as mp3′s, amazon credits, etc.
October 21st, 2009 at 12:16 pm
[...] in Facebook’s gift store, The New York Times reports. The service, as we’ve covered, has already been available for third-party developers since August. From the [...]
October 21st, 2009 at 4:29 pm
[...] will allow users to send gifts from developers like JibJab, Real Gifts will allow users to send physical items, and Virtual Gifts will allow users to send the virtual gifts that have been in Facebook’s [...]
November 6th, 2009 at 12:48 pm
This is a great idea!
November 12th, 2009 at 8:59 am
[...] to Inside Facebook, today marks the start of Facebook offerings gifts created by outside developers into the Facebook [...]
December 11th, 2009 at 7:40 am
[...] that Facebook will develop a new universal currency, Facebook credits, which could be used to buy physical, not just virtual gifts, as has been the case so far. The social networking site is also currently [...]
February 13th, 2010 at 3:03 am
We are aiming at people buying gifts for little boys – parents, grandparents, other family members and friends. We are aiming at someone who wants to buy something different that cannot be purchased on the high street.
boys bedroom ideas
March 26th, 2010 at 7:35 am
more gifts to cum
July 8th, 2010 at 4:08 am
[...] Spätestens wenn die ersten wirklichen Shopping-Apps oder die ersten externen, über Social Plugins bzw. Connect mit Facebook verknüpften Websites den Erwerb von physischen Produkten oder digitalen Inhalten abseits virtueller Güter anbieten sollten, erhalten Credits auch eine Bedeutung für alle die Mitglieder, die sich nichts aus Spielen machen – bisher gab es lediglich Tests in diese Richtung. [...]
October 24th, 2010 at 9:57 am
עולם האינטרנט חיכה לפיתוח הקונספט הזה על ידי פייסבוק. מוקדם יותר השנה פייסבוק כבר בחנה את האפשרות לאפשר תשלומים און ליין ועכשיו זה קרוב לקרות.
דרך אגב, כדי עשות את זה פייסבוק שכרה את המנהל הקודם של גוגל צ’קאאוט מתחת לאף של גוגל.