The 10 best selling products on Facebook have played their part in granting the massive social networking site its own e-commerce terminology: F-commerce. F-commerce, shorthand for Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) commerce, is defined as “a strategy that focuses on developing or designing ecommerce content and storefront sites within the Facebook social networking site.” It is proof that Facebook has successfully evolved into as much of a power player in the realm of online shopping as anyone, despite the enormity of its competition.
What makes Facebook a good choice for selling products is that as a social media platform, it facilitates word-of-mouth, unlike other e-commerce platforms like Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Etsy Inc (NASDAQ:ETSY), eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY), and Shopify Inc (US) (NYSE:SHOP). It’s simply a lot easier on Facebook to read or make referrals or product reviews among people you know or are familiar with than it is when dealing with strangers on Etsy Inc (NASDAQ:ETSY) or Shopify Inc (US) (NYSE:SHOP), or with random shops from China on Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) or eBay Inc (NASDAQ:EBAY).
Buyers can get product information not just from the sellers themselves, but also from their own network of friends, friends of friends, and so on. With Facebook, you can effortlessly share seller posts or tag people on product photos. Facebook’s “Like” and “Share” functions can also be fully utilized in promoting one’s products. The engagement factor makes product promotion more organic, as opposed to just using ads calculated by an anonymous group of marketers. Thus, the networking aspect is in full play when it comes to Facebook e-commerce.
Facebook sellers have their own tactics that make full use of that networking advantage. They usually make posts that engage their followers and keep them top-of-mind, and these are posted at strategic times of the day, which not only depends on the demographics of their audience, but also on the type of product they are selling. They also speak to their followers in the comment sections of each post, making the experience more personal and interactive. One can also pay Facebook certain fees for advertising to expand their reach. Some retailers, such as Gap Inc (NYSE:GPS), Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:SHLD), MAZDA MOTOR CORP NPV (OTCMKTS:MZDAF) and Groupon Inc (NASDAQ:GRPN), made use of Facebook’s check-in function and other features to offer vouchers, promotions and deals to customers.
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The advantage that e-commerce giants such as Amazon, Etsy, eBay and Shopify have over Facebook is that making and collecting payments is a lot easier on their platforms. On Facebook, one has to make arrangements with the seller to figure out how to pay for the desired product. On the other established e-commerce sites, which were specifically created for selling products online, they employ options such as direct checkout or PayPal. Amazon even has its own payment processing service, Amazon Pay. Facebook also automatically lowers the quality of a photo when it is uploaded to its site, whereas on Shopify, one can show better images or create an overall better design from scratch. On Facebook, sellers are constrained by what the platform allows. Tracking orders on Facebook can also be difficult, with one relying primarily on comments or private messages on Facebook Messenger (which can be in the hundreds if a seller has lots of followers). Although nowadays, sellers can integrate their Shopify and Facebook accounts for a certain fee.
Whereas previously, eBay was the go-to place for buy-and-sell endeavors and Facebook was mostly for trendy and fast items, Facebook has become a serious contender with the launch of Facebook Marketplace. This new feature fully takes advantage of Facebook’s connectivity and community-oriented presence to tap into the buy-and-sell market. With Marketplace, one can even discover items that can be bought from people in the vicinity, which adds to the convenience.
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The best products to sell on Facebook are products that are fun, light and current. It is here that you’ll find all the latest trends in makeup, fashion, leisure and even food. Customers on Facebook usually purchase things on impulse, so it’s important that the products look especially enticing in photos. Engagement and product promotion must come off as authentic and personal. In other words, the products must naturally be “the talk of the town,” as this is what Facebook as a service is arguably most useful for – communication. Thus, despite it being a huge name on the internet, Facebook is not so much a threat to the other big e-commerce sites as it is welcome competition, making online shopping more interesting and multi-faceted to buyers and sellers alike.
In this article, we’ll explore the best selling products on Facebook based on analytic pieces on F-commerce and the kinds of products that most benefit from Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s style of marketing, as the social media platform is not as transparent with its statistics compared to other e-commerce sites. If you found this list interesting, you might want to also check out our list on Echo and 14 best selling products on Amazon.
10. Subscription Boxes
We are starting off our list of best selling products on Facebook with subscription boxes that are packages that contain products of a certain theme. There is a wide array of subscription boxes available on Facebook: from handpicked books, healthy snacks, art materials and new makeup trends, to meal preps, hobby boxes, handicrafts and de-stressing packages with aromatherapy candles and other calming items. Their value comes from the curated content of the packages, which takes away the guesswork for people who want to dabble in new hobbies or interests. Subscription boxes are also convenient in that you don’t need to go to different online or physical stores to get the individual items. They also look good in Facebook photos, which adds to their appeal.
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9. Cameras
When it comes to capturing life’s biggest moments, action cameras such as the ever-popular GoPro Inc (NASDAQ:GPRO), camera drones and 360-degree cameras are overtaking smartphones and DSLRs on Facebook and other e-commerce sites. These types of cameras offer more convenience and flexibility, especially when traveling or going on adventuresome activities such as hikes and dives. They also allow one to take more professional-looking shots. Camera drones, for instance, can take impressive birds-eye views of skylines, mountains and islands. A GoPro can record your every move and can be used underwater. Wide-angle and spherical shots of interesting locales can be achieved using 360-degree cameras like SAMSUNG ELECTRONIC KRW5000 (OTCMKTS:SSNLF)’s Gear 360.
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8. Weight Loss and Fitness Products
Nutrition and weight loss are hot topics nowadays as people are becoming more concerned with living a healthier lifestyle. Workout clothes such as designer leggings, fitness trackers like those made by Fitbit Inc (NYSE:FIT) and diet foods and supplements such as Paleo diet bars and detox teas are among the most popular items being sold on Facebook. These kinds of products work well on Facebook because they benefit a lot from word of mouth and customer reviews, both of which come naturally on social media, whether or not it is on the product page itself or made within one’s social circle. Posting photos of yourself wearing the leggings, or before and after shots when using a particular supplement, are the kind of advertisements these products thrive on. And now, let’s see what else we have in our list of best selling products on Facebook.
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7. E-Cigarettes
Because of effective anti-smoking campaigns and other factors, less people now think that smoking cigarettes is cool. But those who still want to try their hand at smoking or are already trying to quit smoking are now turning to e-cigarettes that rank 7th in our list of best selling products on Facebook, for their fix, though these battery-powered devices only simulate smoking through vaporizers. It’s not just the devices themselves that are gaining popularity on Facebook, though; there is also a huge market for liquid refills for e-cigarettes. These arguably capture the public’s imagination more because of the myriad of flavors and blends available. One can buy flavors from basics such as strawberry, marshmallow or chocolate, to more creative ones such as cotton candy and bubble tea.
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6. Trendy Accessories
When browsing Facebook, it’s easy to see which accessories are becoming trends just by looking at your friends’ photos or link posts. Because of the ongoing trend on artisanal or artisan-aesthetic items, designer-made accessories tend to sell better than mass-produced ones, but those on a budget can also find cheaper options on Facebook. Wood sunglasses, colorful socks, handmade watches, and leather sandals and bags are just some of the accessories that sell well on the social media platform. These items are not just trendy; they are also less likely to look dated as time goes on.
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5. Homemade Snacks and Delicacies
It’s no surprise that food is one of the best selling products on Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB). Though previously thought of as evergreen, certain kinds of food experience fluctuations in popularity as well. One example is matcha, a kind of finely pulverized Japanese green tea. People aren’t just hoarding matcha powder, they are also interested in matcha-flavored snacks such as cookies and chocolate. In Asia, salted egg also suddenly exploded in popularity, so more people are buying and selling salted egg potato chips and salted egg chicken skin. A few years ago, it was cookie butter made of crushed Speculoos cookies. When it comes to food trends, word-of-mouth is key, and social media sites like Facebook play a huge role.
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4. Travel-Themed Items
In recent years, travel for leisure and exploration has been rapidly growing in popularity. People are no longer satisfied with simply reading or watching shows about far-flung places; they want to experience the sights for themselves. Travel is also getting cheaper and more convenient, which has allowed many people to fulfill their wanderlust. This has given rise to a number of well-designed products that evoke the feeling of travel. These products include vintage-looking maps, specialty maps and planners for documenting your travels, passport holders, watches, and jewelry decorated with a globe, world map or airplane. And now, let’s see the top three entries in our list of best selling products on Facebook.
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3. Trendy Clothes
Whether it is used, brand new or created by small designer boutiques, clothes in all the latest trends have always inundated Facebook. Advertising or promoting posts on Facebook is also easy, which is why most up-and-coming clothes vendors and boutique owners choose it as their primary platform, but it’s not just small designers that are benefiting from this. For example, in 2011, the teen clothing store Wet Seal said that 20% of its e-commerce sales originated from Facebook-referred traffic, while denim brand Levi’s saw its sales through the platform increase by 40-times. American Eagle also found that Facebook referred visitors spent an average of 57% more than non-Facebook referred ones. In terms of clothing, bralettes, slip dresses, athleisure, and bikinis are among the best selling products on Facebook.
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2. Beauty Products
Makeup and beauty items rank second in our list of best selling products on Facebook. They make up a large share of Facebook sales because they are easy to ship, easy on the eyes, not hard on the budget and have a wide range of buyers across different demographics. It is also an evergreen product to sell because people who wear makeup buy it on a regular basis and it is part of their daily routine. For most people, wearing makeup is a confidence booster. Matte lipsticks are all the rage right now, with some of the most popular items coming from Estee Lauder Companies Inc (NYSE:EL)’s MAC Cosmetics, as well as Colourpop and Kylie Cosmetics. Other best-selling beauty products are dry shampoo, Korean cosmetics, face masks, and specialty makeup brushes.
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1. Gadget Accessories
For most people, their most prized possession is likely their smartphone or their laptop. So if there’s one thing an entrepreneur would invest in, it is gadget-related. Many a Facebook vendor has profited from selling gadget accessories that are number one in our list of best selling products on Facebook. For instance, Incipio Technologies, which specializes in Apple accessories, said in 2011 that Facebook was second in terms of referral traffic to its site. Smartphone cases are bestsellers because not only are they practical – since they offer some degree of protection to our precious phones – they also allow us to express ourselves through different creative designs. Other popular gadget accessories include power banks, headphones, wireless chargers and Bluetooth speakers, all of which are highly useful to people who are always on the go.
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The continued evolution of the social media platform has opened up the retail scene to more avenues for entrepreneurs and shoppers alike. Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is no longer just for sharing life updates or connecting with friends; it is now also a hassle-free way to find a good bargain. If you liked any of the products on our list of the 10 best selling products on Facebook, let us know in the comments below.
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