(Image source:  Facebook ) 

BY NICHOLE CARTMELL

ANCHOR LOGAN TITTLE

Facebook might have just made gift-giving easier. Users can now give real gifts to their friends. Here’s WINK with the details .

“The new feature allows users to buy a real gift and post the gift giving gesture on a friend's timeline... The recipient can unwrap a preview of the gift and swap for a different size, flavor or style before it is mailed.”

According to Facebook, users can pay right away or wait to add their payment information until later. Gifts can range from Starbucks gift cards to cupcakes. Fox Business explains Facebook will earn a percent of the proceeds from each transaction but the amount varies with each partner.

"The move marks the latest by Facebook to see if users are willing to spend money on their site. Commercial transactions right now represent a small portion of revenue for Facebook, most of the money comes from selling advertisements on the site.”

A writer for All Things Digital points out the most significant part of the move isn’t that the company has unveiled a new line of commerce, but the ability of users to access the program on their phones. He says this is crucial.

“More than half of Facebook’s hundreds of millions of monthly active users access Facebook through a mobile device, signaling a massive shift away from the desktop in just the past few years. But mobile screens aren’t friendly to advertising, which is currently Facebook’s primary revenue driver.”

All this might sound familiar. That’s because Facebook tried something similar a couple of years ago.

Users were allowed to post virtual gifts on their friends' walls. According to PCmag , the idea was born out of a 2007 hackathon event but ended in 2010. It was shut down so Facebook could focus on "improving other products."

According to a writer for Forbes , this new program opens new opportunities for e-commerce in general. Using functions the social network already has, the writer explains Facebook could continue to expand...


take Facebook Groups for instance. A group could easily purchase a gift for the leader and even split the costs.

or the Facebook events tool could allow users to arrange other purchases for birthday parties, holiday parties, or even weddings.

developing a Christmas gift list application or wedding gift-giving registry are also options for the site.


Currently, the Gifts program is not available to every Facebook user. According to Facebook’s blog, the program will roll out gradually, first in the United States.