Good article in the WSJ today covering the early returns from Facebook Like deployments by ecommerce retailers including the first public ROI statement I have seen:  ”After Gilt introduced “Like” onto its “flash sales” pages at the end of June, the site saw a 50% leap in sales coming from Facebook after the first week. “We are watching to see if it continues, beyond an initial bump because it is new,” said Jag Bath, the company’s vice president of product management.”"

Trade-Offs Arise as More Sites Link to Facebook – WSJ.com

Of the highest profile deployments to date, I find Amazon’s the most useful.  Instead of Facebook Like standing on it’s own, Amazon has solved 2 consumer problems well:

• When is my friend’s birthday and what should I get them?
• What is popular among my friends?

To achieve this, Amazon tapped into the Facebook API and did more than just the Like button.   They do a great, simple job of displaying the results in 2 carousels clearly showing birthdays and wishlists and what is popular among friends.  Landing on this page makes you want to buy a gift for your friend and they have made it so easy.  It would be very interesting to learn the conversion rate on this page.

I think we will see more of this type of implementation and not simply slapping on Like buttons everywhere.  Amazon has solved a problem for consumers and that is the key.  I think we will also see “what is popular with my friends” become an option for faceted navigation – it is just another way to sort the results set.

What is your prognostication?  Will retailers embrace Facebook Like?