Listening to FB Q1 2021 earnings report, I am closing the book on Facebook's native eCommerce efforts that are not ad-driven.

Last year, I made the statement that if Facebook were to succeed in non-ads related commerce, it would have to invest like its life depended on it. Period.

The reason is that the natural inclination is to default back to that sweet nectar of high-margin ad business and not focus on eCommerce too much.

Well, that level of commitment and investment is not happening. Sheryl Sandberg's direct quote: "Don’t need commerce itself to become a big part to make the investment worthwhile."

That means it won't become significant, it's self-fulfilling.

Again, I'm not saying I ever thought they would want to challenge Amazon or Shopify or anything like that. But at times you like to play with ideas that Facebook will invest seriously after this. After hearing Mark Zuckerberg say that Commerce is a top 3 priority in previous years, I watched. And waited.

Well... The jury is in. They will not invest seriously relative to other players, which leaves openings for those looking at social commerce that does not have an ad-based focus.

I know at least 3-4 live streaming commerce startups out there now chasing the space.