Facebook’s Mesenger Service can now be used for developers to create apps, and for shoppers to communicate directly with shoppers.
According to reports, the move reflects the company’s efforts to expand its reach and look for different revenue streams from its 1.4 billion users. The Messenger service presently has more than 600 million users.
Messenger is likely to sport more than 40 different apps integrated into the service in the next few days, including apps from ESPN and Weather Channel, and it will also include apps that will allow users to send each other animations, sports clips, and other items.
Facebook has adopted a mobile-based strategy, and to expand its reach in the sector the company purchased photo-sharing app Instagram and messaging app WhatsApp last year for $19bn.
The company is reportedly aiming to operate the messaging service independent to its social media platform in order to compete with other messaging services like Snapchat and WeChat.
Presently, the social media giant has teamed up with online retailers Zulily and Everlane to allow customers to alter their orders through the messaging service and get notifications about the shipments.
Reuters cited Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg as saying: "This is just the first step toward creating better sharing experiences across this whole family of apps."
