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Netflix Connects Users with Facebook

Online consumer entertainment retailer Netflix, which has already publicized intentions to focus more on its online content streaming service, is further expanding its internet presence through a new partnership with social networking site Facebook.

Using the Facebook Connect extension of the Facebook social networking platform, Netflix customers who are Facebook members can seamlessly link their Netflix and Facebook accounts, the company explains. This will allow Netflix customers to automatically link their one- to five-star ratings of movies to their Facebook pages, as well as make interactive comments about Netflix films with other Facebook users. Facebook ratings will also connect back to a movie’s Netflix page, writes Retailer Daily.

Netflix joins an increasing number of retailers who are actively integrating their customer-facing activities with Facebook and other social networking sites.  Recent research indicates that 32% of U.S. online retailers have a Facebook page, making it the most popular social networking site for U.S. retailers, and that 59 of the top 100 U.S. online retailers have a page. These include Best Buy, Toys R Us, Kohl’s, Wal-Mart, Abercrombie & Fitch, Amazon, American Eagle, Barnes & Noble, compUSA, Costco, Gap, Macy’s, Nordstrom, REI Staples, Target, Victoria’s Secret, Walgreens, Zales and Zappos.

Department store retailer Sears, who has offered social shopping for prom dresses on Facebook, recently purchased Israeli social networking site Delver.com and said it plans to expand its global online strategy and build more meaningful relationships with customers.

Also pizza retailer Papa John’s has actively integrated promotional efforts with Facebook. Papa John’s launched a Facebook-based promotional tie-in with the NCAA men’s basketball championships earlier this month, following a successful pizza giveaway for Facebook users in November 2008.