Wishpond’s RetailConnect makes Facebook Store creation a snap

Being at a conferece such as GROW 2011 allows for some face-to-face connections to be made with many of the companies that I have only engaged with in the virtual realm. This face-to-face connection happened with the folks from Vancouver-based Wishpond, one of the fifteen finalists that demonstrated it’s wares at Launch@GROW last night. Today the company announced the ability for any retailer with a store on eBay, Google Merchant Center, or Shopify to instantly create a Facebook Store with its RetailConnect shopping platform.

Each of the newly-created Facebook stores will be fully populated with their product inventory and data including price, location and availability. RetailConnect makes the process a snap, with users having a new store up and running in as little as 15 minutes. The platform automatically ports all of the product data from eBay, Google or Shopify to Facebook and instantly creates a store for each retailer, keeping the product information synchronized with the source all the while so that merchants have no need to manage products within Wishpond. This allows retailers to get in the social commerce game with no extensive waiting period…or extensive cost.

With so many Internet users essentially “living” in Facebook, the development of e-commerce solutions within the social network is a no-brainer. By acting as a conduit between Facebook and popular services like eBay, Shopify and Google Merchant Center, Wishpond appears to be ahead of the game. And may very well be speeding up the evolution of how people buy things online.