System and method of providing a buy option in a social media network

A system comprising:

• a processor;
• and
• a computer-readable storage device storing instructions, which, when executed by the processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:
• receiving a posting of an image or a video through a social networking site, wherein the social networking site receives and transmits posted images or videos from a posting entity to receiving entities, wherein the posted items comprise at least one of text, images, and videos;
• identifying data associated with the posting;
• determining whether the data identifies a product within a product database for sale from the posting entity to yield a determination;
• and
• when the determination indicates that there is no reference to the product in the product database:
• transmitting the posting through the social networking site without an option to buy;
• and
• when the determination indicates that the posting references the product in the product database, and thus indicating a sale-related intent:
• transmitting the posting through the social networking site with a buy option associated with the product, wherein the buy option comprises one of a button, a drop-down menu, or a hyperlink;
• receiving a purchase interaction associated with the buy option;
• and
• processing a purchase of an item based on the purchase interaction, wherein processing the purchase occurs within the social networking site.

A non-transitory computer-readable storage device storing instructions which, when executed by a processor, cause the processor to perform operations comprising:

• receiving a posting of an image or a video through a social networking site, wherein the social networking site receives and transmits posted items from a posting entity to receiving entities, wherein the posted items comprise at least one of text, images, and videos;
• identifying data associated with the posting;
• determining whether the data identifies a product within a product database for sale from the posting entity to yield a determination;
• and
• when the determination indicates that there is no reference to the product in the database of products:
• transmitting the posting through the social networking site without an option to buy;
• and
• when the determination indicates that the posting references the product in the database of products, and thus indicating a sale-related intent:
• transmitting the posting through the social networking site with a buy option associated with the product, wherein the buy option comprises one of a button, a drop-down menu, or a hyperlink;
• receiving a purchase interaction associated with the buy option;
• and
• processing a purchase of an item based on the purchase interaction, wherein processing the purchase occurs within the social networking site.

A method comprising:

• presenting an input field on a user interface of a generalized search entity, wherein the generalized search entity processes data using a generalized search engine that indexes and searches both merchant sites and non-merchant sites;
• receiving user input in the input field, wherein the user input comprises a text-based query;
• correlating the text-based query against a product database of products for sale from merchants to yield a correlation;
• determining, via a processor and based on the correlation, that the user input into one of a search intent and a purchase intent to yield a determination;
• and
• when the determination indicates the search intent:
• presenting a search result comprising a non-merchant site;
• receiving a search interaction associated with the non-merchant site;
• and
• transitioning to the non-merchant site;
• and
• when the determination indicates the purchase intent:
• presenting a purchase-related search result comprising a buy option associated with the user input, wherein the purchase-related search result is configured such that when a user interacts with the purchase-related search result and confirms a purchase via interacting with the buy option, the generalized search engine initiates processing of a purchase of an item;
• and
• receiving an interaction associated with the purchase-related search result.