<p>In yet another move to make it easier for brands to connect with consumers, Facebook is now testing a ‘shop’ section on its website. This will be an additional tab alongside News Feed, Pages and Groups, unlike the ‘buy’ button the company introduced a few months ago for ads.<br><br>Facebook said the purpose of this tab is to have “a single place for people to more easily discover, share and purchase products”. According to a survey by Facebook, nearly half of the people on it, actively look for products, with a majority of them discovering new products in News Feed, Pages, and Groups.<br><br>The company said in a blog post, “This behaviour — that’s already happening on Facebook — gives us a chance to make people and marketers’ experiences better. We want to build native experiences that make it easier for both people to discover products on mobile and businesses to drive more sales.“<br><br>Facebook is currently testing the feature with a limited set of small businesses in the US who are also testing the ‘shop’ section on Pages. Over time the company will explore incorporating additional content into this experience, such as items listed for sale on Groups.<br><br>Matt Idema, vice-president of Monetisation Product Marketing, Facebook said in an official statement, “People are increasingly discovering products on mobile and Facebook, yet the shopping experience could be better. What we’re doing — with proven products like carousel ads and new products we’re testing — is making it easier for people to discover products on mobile and businesses to drive sales.”<br><br><strong><span style="color:#b22222;"><img alt="" src="http://bw-image.s3.amazonaws.com/VR-16-nov.jpg" style="width: 326px; height: 362px; float: right; margin: 6px;">Brand Buzz</span><br>Instant Recall</strong><br>A day after Twitter announced Jack Dorsey as the new CEO, it unveiled Moments. The feature allows users to see the ‘best of Twitter in an instant’.<br><br>Moments is a new button that will help users follow the latest news stories. Users can also swipe through topics such as entertainment or sports.<br><br>Launched initially in the US only on desktops, Android and iOS, Moments will be updated as new information or great Tweets become available. Users can also follow it for live sporting events or awards.<br><br><strong><span style="color:#daa520;">DIG THE DATA</span><br>Coming Out On FB</strong><br>According to Facebook Research, over the past year, approximately 0.8 million Americans updated their profile to express samegender attraction. Further, not only has the total number of Americans who have come out on FB risen dramatically, but so has the number of coming out each day. Fan pages for LGBTrights groups acquired over 150,000 new fans in five days after the June 26 Supreme Court ruling.<br><br><strong>Net Fears</strong><br>Of 2,000 millennials surveyed by Intercede on data security, less than five per cent feel their data is “protected”. Sixty-eight per cent believe the more you are digitally connected, the higher is the risk.<br><br><strong><span style="color:#0099cc;">LEADER</span><br>Mohamed A. El-Erian<br>@elerianm</strong><br>Chief economic adviser, Allianz<br>“At 6.9 per cent, China growth is higher than many expected — yet lowest level in 6 years &, importantly for policies, below official 7 per cent target”<br><br><strong>Suhel Seth<br>@suhelseth<br>Author</strong><br>“Why doesn’t the SHIV Sena have a Helpline which we can call if we want people beaten up, painted or shouted at?”<br><br>(This story was published in BW | Businessworld Issue Dated 16-11-2015)</p>
