• by Erik Sass , Staff Writer @eriksass1, July 16, 2015

The e-commerce arena, long dominated by Amazon, is heating up with new initiatives from the other online titans, Google and Facebook. Earlier this week Google began testing “buy” buttons in its mobile search results, and almost simultaneously Facebook revealed it is experimenting with shops in Facebook Pages, enabling brands to transact e-commerce directly from the Facebook platform.

According to Buzzfeed, which first reported the news, the online storefronts within brand pages allow users to browse products, arrange delivery details, and pay through an online checkout service. The shops are given a marquee spot under the “about” section on company pages, meaning they show up immediately as users scroll through the page on mobile.

The new functionality builds on Facebook’s previous introduction of a “buy” button, which enabled users to buy specific products featured on the site, by adding product discovery for a more complete shopping experience.

Facebook isn’t taking a cut of online sales completed through the shops -- yet. But as the experience with the ever-diminishing organic reach of Facebook posts demonstrates, the social titan isn’t afraid to establish a useful service for free, then gradually turn the screws on companies that have built businesses on it.

Back in March Facebook bowed peer-to-peer payments service as part of its Messenger service, putting the social titan into competition with peer-to-peer payment services like Square, Venmo, and Snapchat’s Snapcash.

As noted, earlier this week Google rolled out a new “buy” button in mobile search ads that allows users to make a purchase directly from that ad. The button takes consumers to a mobile landing page where they can complete transactions, including picking sizes, colors, and other details, according to TechCrunch, which reported the news this morning.