facebook rolling out a ' GIFT SERVICE '

 Facebook has launched Gifts, a way to send a physical gift to a friend through the social network.

The social-networking giant unwrapped Facebook Gifts, a new service that will eventually let its more than 950 million members exchange gifts from their profiles. Starbucks, Magnolia Bakery and 1-800-Flowers are among Facebook's 100 launch partners.

Facebook (NASDAQ: FB) has 100 retail partners at launch, and both the purchaser and recipient can watch the progress of the shipping of the gift through the social network, according to the report. Retailers handle the shipping, but the item is paid for through Facebook's payment platform.

It works by first letting the buyers browse through the selection of gifts (currently a hodgepodge including $35 cupcake orders from Magnolia Bakery and a $5 Starbucks gift card). Once they've made a selection, the recipients get an alert and provide a shipping address. Then the buyer enters credit card information to make the payment.

Ka-ching! Facebook gets a credit card number, a street address and a host of other identifying information it currently doesn't have about its users.

The launch looks like a way to profit from a popular feature (and replaces the virtual gifts that were once ubiquitous). And Facebook will make money by taking a cut of these transactions on a sliding scale depending on the partner and product, according to a spokeswoman. Facebook currently takes a 30% cut of transactions made with virtual "credits" purchased on the platform, which are almost entirely used for gaming.

Facebook also receives access to street addresses, which recipients would be voluntarily providing, enabling the kind of online-offline targeting the company is already doing by allowing third parties totarget their customers on Facebook by matching phone numbers and email addresses.

Users will be able to click on a "gifts" icon on their Facebook friends' pages on Facebook's website or on Android mobile phones. (IPhone and iPad versions are coming soon.)

The icon will also show up on the right side of users' Facebook pages with the notifications for friends' birthdays, weddings and other life events. For example, if your friend's birthday is coming up in two days, you'll now see a "give her a gift" link and the gift icon next to her name and photo.

LINK:-
https://www.facebook.com/about/gifts