Facebook goes head-to-head with #Amazon. Now you can buy anything on the #Facebook mobile app

Facebook wants its users to shop for clothes and other products from their mobile phones without ever leaving its app.

In an effort to move further into e-commerce and compete with Amazon's retail offerings, Facebook announced Monday it is testing several ad features that allow users to shop directly through its app.

Few users make purchases on mobile phones because it is slow and cumbersome, but Facebook hopes to win over more ad dollars by smoothing the process

Mobile purchases make up less than 2 percent of all retail sales, according to research firm eMarketer.

'We're looking to give people an easier way to find products that will be interesting to them on mobile, make shopping easier and help businesses drive sales,' said Emma Rodgers, Facebook's head of product marketing for commerce.

Among the new features are ads that take a user through a specific brand's products without redirecting them to another site. 

For example, a user who clicks on an ad from a boutique could see an expanded page that displays numerous clothing items.

Businesses on Facebook will also be able to display products for purchase directly on their own pages. 

And users will be able to purchase products directly on Facebook through a 'buy now' button that will be more widely available.

Facebook users in Spain and Ireland are currently trialling new Reactions buttons unveiled last week. In addition to the standard Like button, users in these regions  can respond to posts using the 'Love', 'Haha', 'Yay', 'Wow', 'Sad' and 'Angry' icons (pictured)

The 1.5-billion-member social network has also added a new section on its app that takes users directly to a shopping page where they can browse among numerous brands from a select group of small businesses that will gradually expand.

'From Facebook's perspective, they're addressing a pain point for retailers,' said Catherine Boyle, an analyst at eMarketer. 

'They will attract serious ad dollars with this offering.'

Facebook says nearly half of people come to Facebook to actively look for products, with a majority of them discovering new products in News Feed, Pages, and Groups.

Facebook will also allow firms to build 'carousels' of new products.

'This behaviour—that’s already happening on Facebook—gives us a chance to make people and marketers’ experiences better,' it said.

'We want to build native experiences that make it easier for both people to discover products on mobile and businesses to drive more sales. 

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is seen on stage during a town hall with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi at Facebook's headquarters in Menlo Park.

'Some of our efforts are fully launched and are already creating value for people and businesses. Others are in early test phases. 

'These tests will evolve as we get more feedback.'