Facebook at the heart of ecommerce offerings

A recent report by eMarketer found display ads on U.K. social network sites will account for 5 percent of all online advertisement spending in 2011, as more retailers are trying to increase sales through interaction with consumers via social media.

Through sites such as Facebook, retailers are offering discounts to online shoppers, with special promotions designed for the holiday shopping season, Retail Gazette reported. Facebook enables companies to promote their advertising campaigns on the social network through the use of discussions, coupons, videos and other sources of product information and deals.

Further, research from comScore found retailers prefer to use Facebook, as more consumers are purchasing from brands that they interact with on social media sites. For example, Facebook friends and fans of Starbucks spend 8 percent more in the coffee stores and transact 11 percent more frequently than average Starbucks customers.

Online retailer Toolbox recently launched its own Facebook page to further engage consumers and keep customers updated on news, developments and deals on its products, including power tools and gardening equipment.

“As an internet based company we truly appreciate the power of Facebook," said Scott Morris, marketing manager at Toolbox. "It has a huge user base and, from a business perspective, it’s common sense to try and tap into that. We’re really excited about the possibility of engaging with such a huge potential audience."