Field Notes2023-10-31

Changes to Meta Shop are Coming: Are you Ready?

Last week, Meta started posting and sending out reminders to US customers who are using the Meta Shop advising them that if they do not have Checkout with Facebook or Instagram enabled they will lose their Shop completely if they do not enable Checkout by April 24, 2024.

The following notice is displaying on the home sceen on US Shopify stores for those using the Facebook & Instagram sales channel.

What will happen if you do not enable Checkout with Facebook or Instagram?

Beginning April 24, 2024:

• Shops without Checkout with Facebook or Instagram enabled will no longer be accessible. This includes shops that use Checkout with messaging and shops that direct people to an e-commerce site to complete a purchase, rather than allowing people to make a purchase directly through Facebook or Instagram.
• Businesses without checkout-enabled stores will no longer be able to use features associated with shops, including organic product tagging in posts and new custom and lookalike audiences derived from people who visited a shop.

Do I need to enable Checkout with Facebook or Instagram?

This will depend on your business objectives. Things to consider before enabling the Checkout:

• Are we using product tagging in our posts and if so, have we seen an uptick in post engagement, traffic to our product pages and/or increased purchases by using this feature?
• Do we have enough visitors/traffic to our Shop from Facebook and Instagram users to create meaningful custom and lookalike audiences to target with our ads?
• Are we leveraging influencer marketing where tagging products by our influencers is part of our objective?

If you’ve answered yes to any one of these questions, the next step is to consider what impact this move will have on your online ordering system.

Enabling Checkout with Facebook or Instagram Considerations 

What are the Fees?

• These will vary, but for Shopify-powered Shops there are no fees at this time. Learn more about Meta fees for sales on Facebook and Instagram. 

How are taxes handled?

• Taxes are handled by Meta. They will collect and remit sales tax in states where they are a marketplace facilitator. Read about Meta’s marketplace facilitator states and sales tax. 

How will orders be handled?

• This will vary depending on your store. If you’re a Shopify merchant, your orders on Meta are processed using Shopify Payments.

How will our current and future Meta ads be affected by the change?

If you’re running Meta ad campaigns, enabling Checkout will provide you with a few more options, including:

• The option to utilize Shops ads which can help you increase conversions by automatically sending potential customers to either your website or your Shop, depending on where Meta thinks that they are most likely to make a purchase. People who are sent to your shop will be able to check out directly on Facebook or Instagram.
• The option to leverage Shop traffic to create custom and lookalike audiences. Note that this option requires a minimum amount of shop traffic traffic.

If you don’t choose to enable Checkout with Facebook or Instagram, you might be missing out. However, the impact on performance will vary by business and it is too early to tell if enabling Checkout will be a game changer for you. Remember, you can always enable Checkout at a later point in time if you decide to take the wait-and-see approach. 

Additional Links and Recap of Resources

• Full details about the US Changes to Shops posted by Meta.
• About Shop Ads
• Meta fees for sales on Facebook and Instagram
• Meta states and sales tax