‘The Facebook Card’ takes the social network's Gifts initiative offline
Hot on the heels of its fourth quarter earnings report yesterday afternoon, Facebook has announced The Facebook Card, a new part of its online Gifts platform intended to be yet another revenue stream for the social network.
Context & Ripple Effects
Facebook’s Gifts effort moved from earlier virtual-gift micropayments to a mobile-focused product in September 2012, then reached all U.S. users in December. The Facebook Card extends that commercial experiment beyond the screen.
Coming immediately after Facebook’s 2012 financial results, the move reinforces Gifts as a distinct effort to build revenue streams alongside the network’s core business.
First-order effects
- Facebook gives Gifts a physical, offline component, expanding the product’s reach beyond its prior mobile and online presentation.
- The Facebook Card makes Facebook’s Gifts initiative a more visible commerce product and another direct revenue-stream experiment for the company.
Second-order effects
- Facebook must operate Gifts as a cross-channel service rather than only a digital feature, raising the importance of a consistent experience between its online platform and the card.
- The broader U.S. rollout of Gifts becomes more consequential because the card adds an offline use case to the nationwide Gifts availability established in December.
Third-order effects
- If Facebook continues extending social features into transactions, its monetization strategy shifts toward commerce products that connect online identity and offline spending rather than relying on a single revenue model.
The trend: Social networks are testing commerce layers that turn digital engagement and gifting into repeatable revenue channels with offline as well as online touchpoints.