Facebook Fails as Commerce Platform?

Plenty of brands are trying their hands at selling via social networking site Facebook, and who can blame them, given the sites' seeming ubiquity amongst the highly attractive young affluent audience.  However, according to a new report by technology consultancy Forrester Research, Facebook is not likely to become an e-commerce channel anytime soon.  

According to analyst Sucharita Mulpuru, in her report 'Will Facebook Ever Drive eCommerce?" covered in a WSJ article, a social network presence is less effective at customer acquisition and retention than email and paid search.  According to the study (in which she interviewed over 20 technology vendors, retailers and marketers), Facebook gets an average 1% clickthrough rate and 2% conversion rate, whilst email marketing gets an average of 11% clickthrough rate and a 4% average conversion rate.  

People do not visit Facebook in a shopping frame of mind.  They go to find friends and keep in touch, not to find goods or services.  Even when friends recommend products, it is unlikely to lead to a direct conversion (though, of course, as all internet marketing professionals know, online recommendation by friends may well result in a conversion at some later point).  

Of course, there are exceptions to the rule; Mulpuru mentions digital goods companies, or businesses that run limited time sales.  We can see the 'deal of the day' companies such as Groupon, for example, making a Facebook e-commerce strategy work - especially when they offer the deal free to those who sign up a few friends too.  This immediate impulse purchase strategy may be the future of Facebook e-commerce; what do you think?