Back in another episode of Facebook altering its features, it is reported that the company will shut down its live shopping feature on October 1st to focus on Reels. Following the announcement on its blog post, Facebook says that users will no longer be able to host any new or scheduled live shopping events on Facebook.
In addition, Facebook stated that users will still be able to use Facebook Live to broadcast live events, but they will be unable to create product playlists or tag products in their Facebook Live videos.
Facebook clarifies that “as consumers’ viewing behaviours are shifting to short-form video, we are shifting our 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,” the company added.
By removing this feature, it shows Facebook’s commitment to incorporate Reels on its platform, much like Instagram although the changes received a backlash from its users which eventually forces the company to temporarily walk back a few of the changes made on the app.
This move can also be considered risky since some creators or business owners have been using the live shopping feature as their main platform to generate revenue, so shutting it down could result in another outrage. But, we will see how this will play out in the coming months.
Source: Tech Crunch, The Verge
