PIM
Manage all product content in one central system of record.
Activation
Easily syndicate product content to every consumer touch point.
Enhanced Content
Enrich product pages with below-the-fold content and rich media.
Catalog Sites
Share customized, up-to-date digital product catalogs.
Automation
Enhance collaboration with Salsify’s automated workflow engine.
Activation Insights
Continuously optimize your organization’s product content syndication.
GDSN Data Pool
Synchronize standard supply chain, marketing, and ecommerce attributes globally.
PXM Platform, Integrations, and APIs
Integrate the PXM platform with the rest of your enterprise systems architecture.
Supplier Onboarding
Accelerate supplier onboarding while ensuring your schema requirements are met.
Product Listing
Sell products faster with Product Listing.
Content Enrichment
Increase online conversions with Content Enrichment.
Automation
Save time and increase operational efficiency with retail automation.
SXM Platform, Integrations, and APIs
Integrate the SXM platform with the rest of your enterprise systems architecture.
Activation Network
Automate how you exchange product content data to the digital shelf.
Enhanced Content Network
Turn product pages into product experiences with Enhanced Content.
Ecommerce Platform Integrations
Create winning product experiences on owned sites with powerful ecommerce software.
GDSN Data Pool
Synchronize standard supply chain, marketing, and ecommerce attributes globally.
Open Catalog
Connect to the digital shelf faster with an open, standardized, and free product catalog.
Resources
Resource Library
Explore our ecommerce resources to get everything you need to win on the digital shelf.
Blog
Read our blog to get actionable insights for navigating changing markets and industry demands.
Webinars
Watch our on-demand ecommerce webinars to gain expert advice and tips from our community of industry leaders.
Engineering Blog
Explore our engineering blog to get developer resources, insights, and tips.
Events
Register for our upcoming in-person and virtual events to connect with other industry insiders.
Knowledge Base
Investigate our knowledge base to build your Salsify skills and understanding.
Product Updates
Explore the latest news and updates for Salsify products.
API
Examine our comprehensive API and webhook guides to start working with Salsify quickly.
Learn how to prioritize and deliver what your shoppers want with the latest insights.
The Takeaway: Buy buttons may have less to offer than many retailers realize.
Today's retailers face a lot of pressure to meet consumer expectations. Shoppers demand more convenience than ever before, and those firms that struggle to satisfy these expectations are falling behind their rivals.
With that in mind, buy buttons naturally look like a great option for retailers. After all, what's more convenient than single-click shopping, especially when combined with product advertisements?
But there's a problem: While buy buttons may add a few sales here and there, they run the risk of undermining the customer relationship, and that can have serious consequences.
In a lot of ways, the situation is similar to what we're seeing with Facebook Articles.
A dangerous tradeoff
Just like buy buttons, Facebook Articles - that is, news articles that publishers are posting directly onto Facebook - seem like a no-brainer at first. After all, these publishers have been struggling to reach readers for years now, and directly publishing via Facebook greatly increases their articles' visibility (not to mention speedy loading time!). Last year, a study from the Pew Research Center and the Knight Foundation found that 63 percent of Facebook users get news through the social network. Both Facebook news articles and buy buttons make consumption more convenient.
But while this seems well and good, the issue lies in the fact that when readers can get their news through Facebook, they no longer have much incentive to visit the publishers' websites. That means a typical Facebook user will not see other potentially interesting news articles from that same publisher once he or she is finished reading. From the publishers' perspective, this is basically a customer dead end.
That seriously undermines ad revenue for these firms. Publishers were initially upset by the restrictions Facebook imposed on how they advertised when posting articles directly to Facebook. Recently, Facebook offered a solution that addressed this specific problem. At the same time, though, the bigger issue - the diminished connection between publishers and their readers - remains.
Buy button comparison
With buy buttons, the situation is very similar.
"With buy buttons, the transaction ends right then and there."
When consumers hit buy buttons on Google, they never make their way to the retailers' websites - the transaction ends right then and there. That eliminates the potential for cross-sell and up-sell opportunities, which account for a big portion of many ecommerce retailers' revenue. Just like with Facebook Articles, these buy buttons are a dead end.
What's more, buy buttons may erode the relationship between brands and customers. When shoppers don't even end up visiting a retailers' website, they can't possibly develop a sense of what the merchant has to offer or what kind of company it is. That means the customer is unlikely to return in the future.
Buy buttons may capture a few additional sales that wouldn't have occurred otherwise. At the same time, though, they may also result in missed opportunities to develop loyal, repeat customers. Ultimately, that's simply not a tradeoff worth making for most retailers. Customer convenience is critical, but it doesn't override all other considerations.
Jenni is a part of the marketing team. She works on Salsify's blog, social media, and other word-related activities. Lover of cats and good food.
Standing out on the digital shelf starts with access to the latest industry content. Subscribe to Below the Fold, our monthly content newsletter, and join other commerce leaders.