As of October 1st, Facebook will also discontinue live shopping via its platform, according to Meta on its website. In July, it was already announced that TikTok would also stop selling via the live shopping tool “TikTok Shop” outside of Asia.
Facebook Live will continue to be used for live image streaming, but it will no longer be possible to associate labels with products. Meta says it made this decision “because of the shift in consumer viewing behavior toward short videos.” Therefore, “they are shifting their focus to Reels on Facebook and Instagram, Meta’s short video product.”
Meta advises sellers who want to reach and engage people through video in their message to experiment with Reels and Reels ads on Facebook and Instagram. Incidentally, live shopping on Instagram will remain possible for the time being.
Recently, Meta was criticized by a group of Instagram users for focusing on reels, allegedly trying to mimic TikTok, which would come at the cost of Instagram’s original character.
This translated post previously appeared on FashionUnited.nl.