Social Commerce

For the past 20 years, the internet has transformed the way we seek information, communicate with one another and conduct business. With the explosion of social networks and mobile technology, we're no longer just consumers. We're now and forever the “connected consumer.” In just the first half of 2015, we’ve seen the latest attempt to…

Facebook's "Buy" button may be one step closer to a wider rollout, as e-commerce provider Shopify announced an expansion of its beta test with the social network. Shopify said in a blog post that it's expanding its beta test of Facebook’s buy button to “a group of U.S.-based Shopify merchants.”

Thus far, “Facebook commerce” has flopped. Efforts by retailers, from Express to Urban Outfitters, to sell merchandise directly on the social network via virtual shops, “news feed stores” or catalogs have returned a negligible return on investment, at best. Experts say that failure reflects the mind-set of consumers when they’re on the site: they're not…