South Korean e-commerce company Cafe24 said Tuesday that it launched its Facebook Shops real-time integration service, allowing e-commerce merchants to gain 3.1 billion Facebook users as potential customers.

Cafe24 said Facebook Shops allows merchants operating online direct-to-consumer stores to showcase their products on Facebook and Instagram. With a few clicks, merchants can set up their shops on both social media platforms. Businesses of all sizes using Cafe24 can now use Shops.

Previously in May, Facebook announced eight global partners for Shops. Cafe24 was the only e-commerce platform partner in East Asia.

According to the local e-commerce provider, the most significant benefit that Facebook Shops provides merchants is easy and centralized business management for their direct-to-consumer stores, as well as their Facebook and Instagram channels. Through real-time data integration created by Facebook and Cafe24, merchants can access their store admin pages to manage products shown in Shops.

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)