July 24 (Reuters) - Meta on Friday launched a new app called "Seller" to offer dedicated selling tools to merchants using the company's Facebook Marketplace platform for buying and selling items.
Increasing shopping activity on Facebook groups prompted the social media giant to launch Marketplace ten years ago, generating revenue from boosted listings.
Here are some details:
• Meta is looking to strengthen its Marketplace offering to better compete with e-commerce platforms like eBay, while enhancing
the shopping experience on the platform, which sees 430 million items listed each month globally.
• The "Seller" app is designed to sync with existing Marketplace accounts, carrying over current listings, messages and sales history.
• The app features AI-powered tools for creating listings, a unified inbox for buyer communications, inventory management capabilities and performance insights to help sellers optimize their strategies.
• The company said "Seller" is now available on the App Store for U.S. users 18 and older, with a web version currently being tested for those who download the app.
• Facebook is also launching "Facebook Verified", a free badge that signifies a real person is behind a profile, the company said.
• The verification involves a selfie-based process, as the company looks to address concerns about authenticity and safety.
• In May, Meta released an app called "Forum" for people who use Facebook Groups.
(Reporting by Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
