Facebook is trying to take the e-commerce bull by the horns by introducing and testing its new “buy” button. With the release, Facebook, the world’s largest social network, is determining whether it can help businesses drive sales. The new button, which will be seen in the news feed and on business pages, will allow people on a desktop or mobile device to easily purchase a product directly from a business with a click of a button. And without ever leaving Facebook. Here’s how the new advertising product will appear on Facebook:

According to Facebook’s blog, the buy button is currently just a test and is, “limited to a few small and medium-sized businesses in the U.S.” They plan to share more information as they gather feedback from the test.

Facebook knows there may be concerns with security and privacy, and released the following statement via their blog to address these fears:

“We’ve built this feature with privacy in mind, and have taken steps to help make the payment experience safe and secure. None of the credit or debit card information people share with Facebook when completing a transaction will be shared with other advertisers, and people can select whether or not they’d like to save payment information for future purchases.”

This new Facebook feature comes on the heels of an announcement from Twitter about three weeks ago, in which they introduced their own “Buy Now” button. With two of the largest social networks jumping into the e-commerce space, could this provide some unwelcome competition to e-commerce juggernaut, Amazon? We’d love to hear your thoughts and wonder if you’ll try these new social “buy buttons” for your products or services?

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