Dec 22, 2010

Using ‘Likes’ for Gift IdeasBy Geoffrey A. Fowler and Vauhini VaraOnline.WSJ.com

Companies such as Amazon.com Inc. and Etsy Inc., a site that sells handmade and vintage goods, are making gift recommendations for individuals by tapping into the trove of comments and preferences collected by social-networking giant Facebook Inc.

“Shopping is all about tastes and preferences, but so far on the Web, shopping has been pretty clinical,” said Siva Kumar, chief executive of TheFind.com, a product search engine that taps Facebook data. “Facebook allows you to provide the personal relevance and context that makes shopping much better.”

The social-shopping efforts are all in an experimental phase, but the goal is to change how consumers discover and choose products—and increasing their likelihood to click on the buy button.

The latest retail efforts focus on using Facebook’s platform—where outside sites can tap into Facebook user information with their permission. Since last holiday season, more than half of the top 25 retail sites have integrated with Facebook’s platform, the company says.

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