Even though Facebook is actively and openly testing a "Want" button, chances are you won't be able to see it.
Intrigued since rumors flooded the internet earlier this summer, I wanted to see what the highly anticipated button looked like for myself.
I wanted to "Want" something.
Facebook is currently testing the feature with seven different retailers, so I went to Victoria Secret's web page to check it out. This is what I found:
Collect? But, I didn't want to collect, I wanted to want!
Confused, I went to the other six testing retailers (including Pottery Barn, Fab.com, and Michael Kors), but they all would only let me collect, too.
I called a Facebook spokesperson, wondering if it was something I was doing. But when I explained my wantless condition, she said, unsurprised, "Oh, that probably means you're in the Collect group."
You see, although everyone's eyes went to the "Want" button in Facebook's testing announcement, many overlooked that the social media giant is testing a "Collect" and a "Like" (yes, another "Like," for products not people) button, too.
Users are pre-selected to only be able to do one action.
"We're testing to see what does the best," she said. "Who's to say what we're going to do in the future." Facebook won't say whether it will launch just one, two, all three ... or none.
"As the test progresses you might be able to change, but they act exactly the same. It's just the actual word is just different."
Still determined to see a want button, I forced a healthy chunk of the office to go to the Victoria's Secret page to see what button popped up. Ten people I approached in a row were also in the "Collect" group, followed by two with "Like." (Yawn).
It wasn't until I got to Ashley Lutz, our retail reporter (appropriately enough), that I found someone in the "Want" group.
So chances are, if you're desperate to click the "Want" button, you're going to have to go through a handful of friends before you find it. And enjoy it while you can, because it could easily be scrapped if the other two actions yield a better performance.
Although, the "Collect" button actually appears to offer more features than "Want" or "Like." Taking a page out of Pinterest's e-book, you can place the products you're interested in in different categories like fashion, home, and shoes.
Please follow Advertising on Twitter and Facebook.
Join the conversation about this story »
