Instagram has announced that it will enhance its ecommerce offering by allowing retailers to show prices and product descriptions in their posts, reflecting efforts by Facebook, which owns Instagram, to experiment with more ways to connect advertisers with shoppers.
Instagram is launching an enhanced post to encourage consumers to research purchases on the platform. It is
Instagram expands ecommerce capabilities for US retailers
starting with a group of US retailers, including affordable luxury brand Kate Spade, sunglasses purveyor Warby Parker and clothes seller J Crew.
James Quarles, global head of business for Instagram, said the app was aiming to fill a gap between mobile apps that provide inspiration for things to buy and those that allow purchases.
“It is like going from the shop window to the cash register with missing steps in between,” he said.
Instagram, which has more than 500m monthly active users and 300m that log on every day, launched a “shop now” button last year, so retailers could direct their followers to a web browser within the app to buy a product.
Social media sites from YouTube to online scrapbook Pinterest have also been eager to find ways to show marketers that their advertising can lead directly to sales by encouraging consumers to shop on their platforms. Many are hoping for a bumper Christmas season, where advertisers promote potential presents on social sites.
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