As this recent ClickZ article, Shopping is Social,pointed out, placing a check out cart on your brands Facebook page is not an engaging social shopping strategy.
Social is all about engagement.
So how can brands use social shopping to engage with their consumers?
Group Buying
A great example of group buying is Target's "Give with Friends", which allows groups of Facebook friends to chip in to buy and send Target gift cards that can be redeemed online or in store.
Incentivized Sharing
Walmart.com used to run an incentivized coupon offer for users at the final stage of the online check out process.
At the final stage of the check out process, users were shown an option to 'share this purchase with 5 Facebook friends'. Doing so would unlock an instant ' x% off' coupon that would be applied immediately to their purchase.
Local
Another Walmart example includes the Walmart My Local Facebook app. This app allows users to select their local Walmart location and get served deals or coupons based on location.
Connecting Shopping Data
American Express' Like, Link, Love application links Facebook data with users AmEx purchase history to deliver personalized coupons based upon Facebook likes & interests.
Pop Up Gift Shop
In a unique PR-driven strategy, Heinz enabled it's UK-based residents to purchase a can of 'Get Well Soup' through their Facebook fan page.
Over the course of the 4 week program, the brand sold 2,127 cans of soup -- with 1 in 8 fans purchasing a can of soup -- and saw a 200% increase in 'likes'.
