Social networking giant Facebook is pulling the plug on its live shopping feature on October 1. The company has announced that it will no longer be able to host any new or scheduled live shopping events on Facebook. However, users will still be able to use Facebook Live to broadcast live events, but they won't be able to create product playlists or tag products in their Facebook Live videos.
When was Facebook Live Shopping launched and is it shutting down?
Launched first in 2018 in Thailand, Facebook Live Shopping is being shut down as consumers' viewing behaviours are shifting to short-form video, and hence the social networking company is also shifting its focus to Reels on Facebook and Instagram, Meta's short-form video product.
"If you want to reach and engage people through video, try experimenting with Reels and Reels ads on Facebook and Instagram. You can also tag products in Reels on Instagram to enable deeper discovery and consideration. If you have a shop with checkout and want to host live shopping events on Instagram, you can set up live shopping on Instagram," the company explained in a statement.
Facebook's live shopping feature was another revenue stream for content creators on Facebook and let influencers host their own live shopping sessions where they could sell a range of products right from their own store or via an affiliate. Two years later Facebook expanded the feature on a wider scale in to include a dedicated shopping tab. However, Facebook's live shopping feature failed to gain popularity in other parts of the world and seemed to thrive only in China.
TikTok also gave up on its live shopping plans in the US and Europe
Facebook Live Shopping rival and China's ByteDance-owned TikTok also announced shutting down its live shopping feature in Europe and the US in July. TikTok's live online shopping was driven by influencers and creators and meant enormous business for ByteDance.