Facebook and eBay announced they had partnered to encourage development of a new generation of e-commerce applications with social networking capabilities.
At a developer conference Wednesday, EBay Inc. announced it is integrating Facebook’s new Open Graph functionality into its Magento and GSI global commerce platforms. Magento is used for building e-commerce storefronts and GSI is used for order fulfillment. The partnership will allow app developers to build new social shopping experiences for millions of consumers and retailers of all sizes, from small business entrepreneurs to national and global brands.
Available today for developers and retailers, Facebook functionality will be integrated into eBay Inc.’s X.commerce – an open e-commerce ecosystem eBay launched Wednesday. This gives third party developers access to eBay’s global commerce technology, including the Magento open commerce platform.
More than 100,000 retailers worldwide who use Magento will soon have a seamless way to enable their customers to use new sharing options including ‘want’ and ‘own’ buttons as part of a new social shopping experience.
EBay Inc. also plans to integrate Open Graph functionality into its GSI business unit’s Social Media Services framework. This will enable large merchants worldwide to offer their customers similar ways to connect with their friends through shopping, using GSI’s existing Open Graph-enabled content management system. GSI’s commerce platform supports more than 180 retailers in the U.S. and globally, including many leading national brands.
With this Facebook Open Graph integration, Facebook and eBay expect to drive new forms of community and advancements in social commerce by giving developers the technology to create new social experiences, empowering consumers to share their shopping interests, and enabling retailers to add social functionality to their apps and websites.
“Technology is changing the way consumers shop, and eBay Inc.’s integration with Facebook will make shopping social for consumers and retailers worldwide,” said Matthew Mengerink, Vice President and General Manager, X.commerce. “Retailers and developers need a technology-driven global commerce partner to help them engage and connect with consumers anytime, anywhere. By making eBay’s technology and global commerce platforms available to developers and retailers through X.commerce, we are that partner, enabling commerce, changing the way people shop.”
Integrating Facebook Open Graph technology across eBay’s global commerce platforms represents a powerful way to bring people together across an inherently social activity shopping, said Katie Mitic, Director of Platform and Mobile Marketing at Facebook.
“We’re just starting to see what’s possible with social commerce, and look forward to the new experiences developers create,” she said.
EBay recently launched X.commerce to bring together the technology assets and developer communities of eBay, PayPal and Magento.
