Payvment Shows How Ecommerce on Facebook is Done

Last October we wrote about a new service called Payvment that uses PayPal Adaptive Payments to bring its "roving shopping cart" to Facebook. Payvment showed it is serious about ecommerce by exhibiting at the Internet Retailer Conference last week in Chicago, the largest gathering of online merchants, and AuctionBytes had a chance to talk to Payvment founder and CEO Christian Taylor to find out more.

Taylor said there are over 20,000 retailers signed up for the service, and Payvment has 150 storefronts launching a day. Because it can be difficult to get users to leave Facebook and go to other sites, Payvment provides a way for merchants to sell to them directly on Facebook, opening another channel for online retailers. It doesn't replace the merchants' website, according to Taylor, who said Payvment stores on Facebook can provide a way for retailers to tell their Facebook fans what's going on in their dot.com website.

Last month, Payvment raised $1.5 million in funding led by BlueRun Ventures and angel investor and early PayPal employee Dave McClure.

Internet Retailer conference attendees were hungry to learn about social networking marketing techniques, with sessions on the topic and several exhibitors showcasing Facebook in their signage, but it was interesting to note that Facebook itself was not exhibiting or speaking at the show.

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