After Instagram, Facebook Shop now open for app users in US

Name: After Instagram, Facebook Shop now open for app users in US
Uploaded: 2020-08-26T15:46:14+05:30
Description: Facebook is also expanding the checkout feature on Instagram to all US businesses and creators.

Facebook is also expanding the checkout feature on Instagram to all US businesses and creators.

Moneycontrol News

August 26, 2020 / 18:29 IST

As shoppers increasingly shift to the online option due to the coronavirus, companies are busy upping their game in the digital shopping space. The latest entrant is Facebook, which has now launched the 'Shop' section on its mobile app, a feature currently available to the company's users in the United States.

Pointing out that an estimated 85 percent of the people worldwide are now shopping online, the company said in a statement on August 25, "We want to make shopping easier for people and empower anyone, from an entrepreneur to the largest brand, to use our apps to connect with customers and grow their business."

"Facebook Shop makes it easy for people to find products from businesses they love, discover new ones and make purchases, all in one place. We just started testing this in the US," it added.

This comes after the social media giant rolled out 'Instagram Shop' last month, a feature that enables users to shop from brands and creators. In May earlier this year, the company also launched Facebook Shops, a way for businesses to showcase their products on Facebook and Instagram.

Meanwhile, the company is also expanding the checkout feature on Instagram to all US businesses and creators. The checkout on Instagram "makes it easy for people to make a purchase in just a few taps, without leaving the app."

COVID-19 Vaccine

Frequently Asked Questions

How does a vaccine work?

A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine.

How many types of vaccines are there?

There are broadly four types of vaccine — one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine.

What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind?

Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time.

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After Instagram, Facebook Shop now open for app users in US

Facebook is also expanding the checkout feature on Instagram to all US businesses and creators.

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