Why it matters to you
Whether you are looking for local garage sales or pet supplies, Facebook Marketplace is aiming to simplify the search with one-click categories that appear to be based on your search history.
Facebook’s local commerce platform, Marketplace, is now a bit easier to navigate. The latest Facebook update gives Marketplace a facelift, making it a bit easier to find exactly what you’re looking for nearby.
At the top, Marketplace’s previous four icons now include options to access several categories in one tap, sorting the results to include just local garage sales, for example, or stuff for your kids. The new categories are color-coded at the top, alongside the earlier shortcuts to access your own for sale items.
Those shortcuts also appear to be related in part to your search history — every category is not included in the top navigation but if you recently searched for a fish tank, pet supplies will be part of the shortcut categories. Access to all of the categories is available with one tap to the categories icon, with each area color-coded and divided into sub sections — home items, from tools to furniture, for example, are blue while kids and pets fall under the same orange family category. Garage sales and local real estate are bundled under the red Classifieds category.
The new shortcuts are designed to make finding a specific item in a long list of posts a bit simpler, while text-based searches are still available with the same search bar at the top. After searching by keyword, users can sort through the results by selecting a category or narrowing down a price.
According to TechCrunch, the updates also appear for desktop users, though in a different layout, while the mobile update has now rolled out to every user with Marketplace.
A competitor to Craigslist as well as the number of new local sales apps popping up such as OfferUp and LetGo, Facebook Marketplace launched last October. While the designated Marketplace spot is designed to simplify selling on Facebook, users have turned to the platform to sell prior to that by simply sharing with friends or joining local garage sale groups, with 450 million users selling on the site even before the launch of Marketplace.