Instagram has expanded the accessibility and reach of its shopping functionality, just in time for the festive season.
The new feature is a customisable storefront, allowing people to shop directly on business profile pages, making it easier for users to purchase products through the social media platform for a smooth, quick transaction, rather than taking people to the website. Shopping is now accessible directly from Instagram’s main navigation menu.
According to Instagram, 70% of shopping enthusiasts turn to Instagram for product discovery, with 87% of people saying influencers have inspired them to make a purchase or book a trip to their destination. These stats have inspired a feature which brings a unique shopping experience to social media, while giving people the chance to explore products, services and reviews during their everyday use of the platform.
Facebook and Instagram have launched several huge new e-commerce features in recent months, from shops and shopping tags to food delivery and gift card stickers. The new feature is suitable for most businesses, whether you're an SME or larger organisation.
According to a recent press release, the new shift to e-commerce is a direct response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the struggles it has caused for many businesses:
“Right now many small businesses are struggling, and with stores closing, more are looking to bring their business online… That’s why we’re launching Facebook Shops and investing in features across our apps that inspire people to shop and make buying and selling online easier.”
The new features make it simple to promote your brand, product and services. Once it is set up, it must be approved by Instagram before you can start creating posts. Before set up, make sure the following things are all in order:
There are many positive reasons to use Instagram Shopping, including getting more clicks and helping to grow your Instagram followers.
Instagram Shopping improves the customer experience by conveniently displaying prices and information for all of your products, streamlining the consumer journey as well as your own customer service processes.
The shopping experience allows customers to purchase items directly within Instagram, instead of having to search through your entire website for the product they want to buy. All they have to do is tap on your post, add the item to their shopping cart, and enter their payment and shipping methods.
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