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We knew it would only be a matter of time before the extremely popular social networking site Facebook became a place where you could also buy things and also set up shop if you so wished. Facebook has had the “marketplace” for awhile now and the next step was coming.

Flower and gift store 1800Flowers.com has announced plans to open a retail store and let people buy from them directly through Facebook. The company, which went online in 1991, was also the first merchant on AOL. It has also been an online pioneer by being successful and using 1800 in its name.

The majority of people who order from 1800 Flowers are online buyers and the company is trying to evolve into using social networking sites and mobile applications as a way for people to get their flower fix. Perhaps using a mobile phone’s internet browser or application to order flowers isn’t such a bad idea. After all, it only takes one phone call for my husband to realize how bad he’s messed up when he has forgotten our anniversary. Now, just as quickly he can pretend to rectify the situation by purchasing flowers on his phone.

1800Flowers is having a few issues with Facebook and its search abilities right now because unless you put in the hyphens in 1-800-Flowers and the .com you won’t be able to find the company by using the search feature. To fix the problem, Facebook actually has to tweak the search capabilities, as it is out of the flower company’s control.

There are approximately 300,000 active fan pages on Facebook.

I can really see this being the next step in online retailing. It would be more like a one stop shop thing simply because the one site, even with numerous stores in it, could have everything you needed. Imagine it like a shopping mall; yes, you still have to go to separate stores, but they are all within walking distance of each other, you don’t have to get in your car and drive miles down the road.

Jeremy

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