Live Selling on Facebook With Cartr

The Cartr app for Shopify offers the ability to for viewers to purchase products from your Facebook livestreams by commenting on your video with a special product code. This article provides the information on how to get started using Cartr for comment selling.

Note: Switcher Player now provides a shoppable experience for users on the Merchant plan. Check out Live Selling on Your Website With Switcher Player & Cartr for more information.

In this article:

Cartr Requirements

To use Cartr with Facebook, you must have:

  • At least one compatible iOS device. (i.e. iPhone, iPad)

  • Shopify store.

  • Facebook Page with Admin or Editor access.

  • Switcher Business, Business Plus, or Merchant plan.

Understanding the Viewer Experience

One of the biggest benefits of Cartr is how easy it makes the buying experience for your users. They simply comment "Cart" followed by the Unique Product Identifier (UPI) to begin their purchase.

To purchase an item from your livestream, viewers:

  • Comment

    • Post a normal Facebook comment with the word "Cart" followed by the UPI displayed on screen (i.e. "Cart WXYZ02") with the item they want to purchase.

      • They will immediately receive a private message from FB Messenger.

  • Message

    • When they open the message, FB Messenger will ask them to select the product's options, such as size, color, and quantity, which are automatically pulled from your Shopify store.

  • Checkout

    • The product will be added to the customer's cart.

    • To start the checkout process, the viewer will tap Proceed to Checkout.

      • The viewer will then be able to select or enter their payment method and complete the transaction.

If a customer wants to purchase multiple items featured in the stream, there are two options:

  • They can have multiple transactions, completed in real-time when the product is featured in the stream. They will use the process outlined above for checking out each time.

  • They can have one single transaction at the end of the stream (or after the last product they want to purchase is featured).

Note: While customers may prefer to have a single transaction, Shopify does not provide cart holds. Therefore, for items that are limited in quantity, there is no guarantee that the product will still be available to purchase at the end of the stream.

To cancel or make changes to a cart, viewers:

  • Can type "Stop" in the Messenger chat to cancel an entire order.

    • The Stop command is not case-sensitive, so viewers can type STOP, Stop, stop, etc.

  • Can click/tap the Remove button on any item to remove it from the cart.

    • The Remove button is displayed after the viewer has selected their options (size, color, etc).

To purchase products after the livestream has ended, viewers:

  • Have the ability to comment on the livestream using the product code up to 14 days after the stream has ended to generate the chatbot checkout.

Adding Cartr to Your Shopify Store

To begin the process of setting up Cartr for use in Facebook livestreams, the Cartr app must first be added to your Shopify store.

To add Cartr to your Shopify store:

  • Go to Cartr in the Shopify App Store.

  • Click Add app.

    • Log in to your Shopify account if prompted.

  • Click Add sales channel.

  • Select the appropriate account action:

    • If you are a new Switcher Studio user, click Get started now.

    • If you have an existing Switcher Studio account, click Log in and configure your account.

  • A new window will appear prompting you to enter new or existing account information (e.g. email, password).

    • Enter the required fields and click either Create Account or Login.

  • A new window will appear with the ability to set up the Merchant plan.

Note: You can see the full list of features for each plan on the Switcher Studio website here: https://www.switcherstudio.com/pricing

  • On the next page click Approve.

Note: If you are new to Switcher Studio, when you install the Cartr Shopify app, you are starting a free 14-day trial. You will receive an email confirmation from Shopify.

Designating Products to Sell in Your Livestream

Once you have added Cartr to your Shopify store, you can make your Shopify Collection(s) available to showcase and sell products in your livestream.

To make a Shopify Collection available to Cartr:

  • Go to your Shopify admin page.

  • Click Products in the left sidebar.

  • Click Collections below Products in the left sidebar.

  • Click the collection (i.e. Spring 2022) you want to make available in your livestream.

  • Click Manage in the Collection availability section.

  • Check the box next to Cartr.

  • Click Done.

Note: Product permissions override permissions for Collections. Therefore, we recommend ensuring Cartr has been added as a Sales Channel to all products within the Collection you will be featuring in your livestream.

Downloading the Switcher Studio App

After designating which products you would like to sell in your Facebook livestream, you can download the Switcher Studio app on your iOS device(s). Switcher Studio is the app you will use to stream to Facebook and display the items from your Shopify store.

To download the Switcher Studio app:

  • Open the App Store on your iOS device(s). (i.e. iPad, iPhone)

  • Tap the Search icon.

  • Type Switcher Studio in the search bar.

  • Tap Search.

  • Tap Get or Install next to Switcher Studio: Live Stream.

    • If prompted, enter your Apple ID password.

  • The Switcher Studio app will now install on your device.

Connecting Your Facebook Account to Switcher Studio

In order to livestream to Facebook from Switcher Studio, next you will need to connect your Facebook account to Switcher Studio. This will also allow Cartr the ability to display your products on screen and engage the chatbot checkout feature.

To link your Facebook account in the Switcher Studio app:

  • Open the Switcher Studio app on your iOS Device (iPad, iPhone).

    • If prompted, log in using your Switcher Studio account credentials.

  • Tap Horizontal or Vertical.

  • Tap the Outputs tab (box with arrow) in the bottom-right corner.

  • Tap the blue arrow next to Facebook.

  • Tap Connect Account.

    • If prompted, enter your Facebook login credentials.

  • If asked to select permissions, keep the visibility setting on Public and click OK.

  • Click OK.

    • You will receive a confirmation message when your account has been linked.

  • Tap Continue.

Selecting the Shopify Collection in Switcher Studio

To begin the process of livestreaming with Cartr, we recommend loading the Collection you will be featuring in the Switcher Studio app. This will make it easy to showcase your products on-screen when the time comes to begin selling.

To select a Shopify Collection for a Facebook Live video:

  • Open the Switcher Studio app on your main switching device (i.e. iPad, iPhone)

  • Tap the Cartr tab (cart icon) in the bottom-right corner.

  • Tap the arrow next to Select Collection.

    • The next screen will display the Collections you have made available to Cartr.

  • Tap the name of the Collection you want to use.

    • The individual products in the Collection will now appear in the Cartr tab.

Selecting Facebook as the Streaming Destination

Once you have selected the Shopify Collection to showcase in your Facebook Live video, you can select the Facebook Page you will be streaming to using the outputs tab in Switcher Studio.

To select a Facebook Page as the output:

  • Tap the outputs tab (box with arrow) on the main switching device (i.e. iPad, iPhone).

  • Tap the arrow next to Facebook.

  • Tap Page.

  • Tap the name of the Facebook Page you will be streaming to.

  • Enter the stream details.

    • Scheduling: Go Live Now or Schedule for Later

    • Title

    • Event Description

    • Optional Settings

      • Comment Moderation

      • Content Tags

      • Crossposting

      • Stream Quality

  • Tap Save.

    • A blue checkmark will appear next to Facebook in the Outputs tab.

Starting the Facebook Live Video

Now that you have designated the collection you would like to showcase, your products are ready for the livestream. Additionally, if you would like to connect additional cameras or add assets like title slides or testimonial videos, check out the Camera Setup and Assets Overview articles.

To begin the Facebook Live video:

  • Tap the record button (red circe) in the top-right corner on the main switching device (i.e. iPad, iPhone).

    • The live video will begin broadcasting to your connected Facebook page.

Featuring Products in the Livestream

To feature a product in the stream:

  • Tap the Cartr tab (cart icon) on the main switching device (i.e. iPad, iPhone)

  • Tap the item in the Products list.

  • The product image, name, price, and unique product identifier (UPI) will appear on the live program feed.

Note: The product name, image, UPI, and price, and options (e.g. sizes and colors) are pulled directly from your Shopify store. To see any of these details for a product, tap the "i" button on the right of the product name in the Products list.

Video Tutorial: How to Live Stream Using Cartr

Keyword(s): Cartr, Facebook, livesell, ecommerce, chatbot, comment, cart