Facebook usage took a strange turn today with JC Penney opening an online store on its Facebook page. Exactly the same as the online store at jcpenney.com.The department store now allows followers to buy 250,000 items through its fan page. It says it will allow the store to reach more customers and will be able to help them see who is buying what, information all retailers love.
I don't get it. Online stores offer the same as real stores but allow you to buy from the comfort of your own home or on your smart phone. I get that. But a Facebook store will allow you to buy from one website that is very similar, maybe even inferior (the store will be restrained within the coding of Facebook) to that at jcpenney.com, which is just a click away.
Why would you bother buying from a Facebook page when you can already buy from a website? People like convenience but surely no one is too lazy to type 12 characters in an address bar or even click one link? One thing Facebook hasn't really overcome is people's hesitation to transact real money through the site - the marketplace, Facebook credits, it's all in its infancy.
This, for me, is another example of firms not getting what Social Media can do. Yes, it can channel more custom, but smart SM would have allowed JC Penney to get more users onto their online store. If you 'Like' JC Penney it is very likely you have already visited jcpenney.com and even if they hadn't, a link would have been on the Facebook page.
They could have used the Facebook page to offer exclusive coupons, codes and offers. They could have asked users what they want from the online store, what they want from the real life store....they could have spent more time and money ENGAGING with people instead of wasting time and money on something they already have.
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