Facebook stops supporting Live Shopping

The company decided to focus its efforts on the development of the Reels service and not separately support live shopping events.

On its official blog, the Facebook platform announced the suspension of support for the Live Shopping format, which was introduced in 2020. There is an exact date after which sellers will no longer be able to use previously available features in their video events, such as creating a playlist for products sold or placing tags on products directly in the video. This date will be October 1 of the current year.

It is assumed that the main focus of the company will be on the Reels service, which is a competitor to the popular TikTok platform, as well as on the Instagram. It is on these platforms that opportunities for promoting sellers and products will be developed, and there are no plans to support Live Shopping on Facebook with similar options. In addition to live event options, Reels will also have the ability to promote content through paid advertising, underscoring the company's commitment to the format and its intent to attract as many sellers as possible.

It is assumed that modern buyers prefer the short video format and it was regarded as more promising. At the same time, sellers still have the option of holding “live” events using the Facebook Live functionality, but without additional options specifically designed for sales.