Facebook launches 'Shops' feature to bring more businesses online during coronavirus crisis

Making a major push into e-commerce, Facebook has launched 'Shops' -- a new feature that will allow small businesses to sell products on Facebook and Instagram platforms.

The Shops, explained by CEO Mark Zuckerberg during a live-stream, is initiated to improve the online shopping experience, that in turn will help business which suffered amid coronavirus crisis.

"If you can't physically open your store or restaurant, you can still take orders online and ship them to people," The Verge quoted Zuckerberg as saying.

"We're seeing a lot of small businesses that never had online businesses get online for the first time," he added.

For the newly launched feature, Facebook has partnered with third-party services, including Shopify, BigCommerce, and Woo, to handle logistics.

Shops can be found on businesses' Facebook pages and Instagram profiles, and they can also appear in stories or be promoted in advertisements.

The Verge also cited that the items that businesses have made available for purchase will appear within the shop, and users can either save items or place an order.

( With inputs from ANI )