Amazon and Facebook have decided to join hands in order to provide, a better shopping experience for amazon users and wider reach for Facebook into the e-commerce world.

Amazon users can now have a new 'Amazon Facebook Page' which provides recommendations based on 'likes' and preferences of their friends. The largest social networking site will provide the largest e-commerce site with personal information that will help Amazon in suggesting what to buy for yourself and for your friends.


It provides notifications about your friend's birthdays and suggests what to gift them, based in their personal information on Facebook.

As far as privacy issues are concerned, Amazon has been proactive and has already clarified that:

"Amazon will not share account information with Facebook, or provide them with your purchase history; it will not attempt to contact your friends on Facebook". Basically, Amazon aims only to pull vast information out of Facebook and not vice-versa.

This is Amazon's first step towards social networking and is clear indication that simply advertising is not good enough for sellers to ensure sales. Because, with personal preferences and high reliability on friends for purchase advice, it is time for online sellers to understand that social recommendations play an important role in generating sales. Social networking sites have become an essential catalyst for increasing sales figures. 

Take Amazon for example, previously it provided recommendation based on your past purchases, but now they have very intelligently collaborated with Facebook, and now will provide suggestions based on not only what you like but also what people around you are preferring. Moreover, it will tell you what to gift your friends, based in their "likes", thereby including another channel for increasing sales.