The e-commerce landscape is taking on an entirely new look this year. Many social media platforms including Facebook have stepped in the shopping world. Following in the footsteps of its parent company, Instagram has upped its game by introducing its new feature — ‘shoppable’ photos. Could this latest technology crack the code to on-platform sales?
Instagram: A Shopper’s Rome
Rome wasn’t built in a day but they were laying bricks every hour.
Same is the case with Instagram. Over the past two years, the social giant has released a number of updates to make it more shopper friendly, like adding a “Buy Button” on paid ads and introducing “Carousel Ads” for businesses.
But none of these updates addressed the issue that limited Instagram from becoming a shopping paradise: you can’t add clickable links to your Insta posts.
Instagram only gave users one clickable link in the app – the link in your bio. And while other businesses could send their users to the homepage using the link, ecommerce brands that want to send customers to specific product pages saw it as a huge challenge. Hence, the shoppable photo tags!
20 retail brands including Kate Spade, Warby Parker, and JackThreads have joined hands with Instagram on testing these shoppable tags which are available, for now, to iOS users in the US.
The retailers can tag products in their photos, which are hidden behind a “Tap to view products” button. After selecting their product of choice, users see an in-app details page with a specific product’s price, description, additional photos and a “Shop Now” button to buy it within the app.
Now that we understand what shoppable posts are, let’s see what’s in there for you.
The new shopping window or just window shopping?
Even though the change is in the pilot phase, it still got us all excited. According to a study, 70% of Instagrammers have already looked for a brand on Instagram and 62% follow one because they ‘love’ them. But keeping the old stats aside, is the ever-evolving Instagram the right platform for your budding e-commerce business? Read on to find out!
#1. Shopping mindset
Instagram users are shopping addicts! Adding to it is the fact that social media can influence buying decision & 75% of Instagram users take action after looking at an Instagram advertising post.
This makes Instagram the perfect platform that comes with your target audience on a platter.
#2. High engagement
Instagram has officially hit 600 million active users , doubling in size in two years. This is 2x as much as Twitter and 3x Snapchat.
What makes the social platform so popular is that it’s basically Facebook, boiled down to its single most engaging function: sharing visual media. Throw in some brilliant photo filters and a shoppable tag, you will get one of the biggest and most engaged online communities to date.
#3. Cost effective
This new initiative will also be cost effective for retailers. How? Well, Instagram isn’t taking a cut of the profits, but instead, will offer brands the opportunity to pay to show their buyable posts to even their non-followers. This is a win-win for you brand, your customers and of course, Instagram.
Well played Insta, well played!
Long live the Instagram
It’s been obvious for years that Instagram would embrace shopping, but this clean sweep shows its dedication to prioritizing a clean user experience for its community to grow. All we are waiting for is how the brands are going to use this feature and how the users will react to it!
Need a marketing strategy to catch up with the dynamics of social media? 42Works will keep you up-to-date with the new trends just like it’s happy 100+ clients.
