By Arjane Faith Paala

Meta Platforms Inc., declared Monday, August 8, that Facebook will remove its live shopping feature starting October 1 to focus more on its Reels.

Photo Courtesy of Meta/Facebook


In a blog post, the technology company wrote Facebook Live will no longer allow users to create product playlists or tag products, but it can still be used for broadcasting live events.

Short-form videos have skyrocketed to fame and are starting to capture consumers’ interest more, thus, its decision to concentrate on improving Facebook and Instagram reels.

Meta has started to boost its investment towards Reels as an attempt to compete with TikTok after Integrity Institute reported that short-form videos dominated Facebook’s top posts in 2021.

“If you want to reach and engage people through video, try experimenting with Reels and Reels ads on Facebook and Instagram. You can also tag products in Reels on Instagram to enable deeper discovery and consideration,” the company suggested.

Meanwhile, Meta urged Facebook retailers to move their businesses to Instagram Live Shopping instead.

"If you have a shop with checkout and want to host Live Shopping events on Instagram, you can set up Live Shopping on Instagram," it advised.

‘Live selling still allowed’

This move, however, does not clearly affect its Facebook’s Filipino users who are used to “live selling,” in which products are being sold online through Facebook Live.

In a statement to news outlets, Meta clarified that Filipinos can continue hosting and participating in live selling events as this is completely different from Live Shopping.

Furthermore, the company said that the Live Shopping feature was not introduced to the Philippines at all, thus having no reason for Pinoys to further worry.

In August 2020, Facebook introduced its Live Shopping feature which enables users to upload a product playlists of the products they intend to sell that aims to support retailers in selling products interactively and connecting with customers in real-time.


Edited by Nehmia Elyxa Relano