In early September, Facebook launched the idea of sending real gifts to other Facebook users. This idea came from the former service on Facebook which allowed friends to send virtual gifts such as bears, cakes, and cards for 
birthdays, and other special events. Facebook has partnered with Starbucks, and other retailers to sell gifts online. This strategy is very clever however, Facebook face a large competitor, Amazon. Amazon is an established electronic commerce website. Facebook will certainly struggle with their largest competitor because they are used to selling virtual goods, not real goods which can be shipped to ones address. This leads to another struggle which Facebook has to deal with, addresses. Facebook does not have its users addresses therefore, every time a Facebook user purchases a gift for their friend online a notification will be sent to the receiver to type in their address in order for the good to be sent. I believe that this will be a huge inconvenience for many consumers. Furthermore, this shortcoming may turn off many customers. This shortcoming is so significant because consumers will view this new service as less efficient compared to other online-retailers such as Amazon. In conclusion, this idea was clever however I believe Facebook should return to the drawing board to determine a better way to sell goods online. Overall this service is lacking in efficiency, and strong points of difference. Their current current service takes away from the surprise gifts, so why would people be inclined to use the service?
Read Globe and Mail’s Article on Facebook’s gift service by following the link below:
http://m.theglobeandmail.com/technology/facebook-launches-gift-service-ventures-into-amazons-territory/article4573963/?service=mobile