Multi-channel retailer Garnet Hill is expanding its presence into Facebook. No, the site is not a latecomer to the global social media networking site. Rather, it is establishing a Facebook commerce page on the site, making it, in fact, among the minority of brands that use the site.

Customers who visit Garnet Hill's Facebook page will now be able to shop Garnet Hill's full collection of apparel, home, and kids' merchandise. While many retailers do sell some of their products on Facebook, few offer a full range. Users will be able to enjoy the same features and quality of service currently available on the garnethill.com website, the retailer says.

Not a Leading Source

Hopefully, Garnet Hill’s approach prove to be a path blazer for retailers—thus far, F-commerce has not been a major source of online commerce.  Only 20% have purchased something directly within Facebook, according to a study released by ThreatMetrix in partnership with the Ponemon Institute. A separate study, by Oracle, found that 34% of American and Canadian consumers say they would never purchase products via a retailer’s Facebook page, compared to 19% who said they would (9%) or already have (10%) done so.

Another factor working against F-Commerce may be the disinclination of consumers to trust social recommendations.  According to Baynote’s 2nd annual holiday online shopping experience survey, nearly 80% of respondents said social networks had no influence on their holiday shopping decisions yet 55% said getting advice on products from friends was important, indicating retailers are missing an opportunity to exploit the social graph.

Less than nine percent of consumers purchased something from a retailer's Facebook fan page yet 20% made a purchase on an e-commerce website based on a promotion seen on Facebook. Consumers gave the overall shopping experience on Facebook a C+ grade.