Ever see the perfect outfit or home good posted from a random profile you follow on your Instagram feed and you instantly start wondering where to buy the item? Instead of frantically trying to find where the item is being sold from, Instagram is finally bringing shopping to its platform.
Instagram announced on Tuesday that it will begin testing its first shopping feature that will allow users to learn more about products they are interested in without having to leave the app, as well as having the option to be redirected to that company's site to be able to make the purchase.
20 U.S. Brands Join Instagram's Test
The company said that it will begin testing out the shopping experience next week with 20 U.S. brands that include Kate Spade, JackThreads, Abercombie & Fitch BaubleBar, Coach, Hollister, J.Crew, Levi's Brand, Lulus, Macy's, Michael Kors, MVMT Watches, Tory Burch and Warby Parker.
These retail brands will be able to share photos that essentially serve as ads for their products. In these types of posts brands tag their products, whereas users will be able to tap on the "View" icon location at the bottom left of the photo to bring up information on the product such as its description, price and more photos. The brands can have up to five different products in one post.
How To Shop Via Instagram
To complete the seamless shopping experience, the user can then tap on the new "Show Now" link that will be located in the product details to be redirected to that company website to buy the item they like in the Instagram photo. Shopping this way will load product pages faster, much like how Facebook's Instant Articles works.
This makes it even easier to shop for items liked on the social media platform since users won't have to leave the app to hunt the product down or go to that brand's website.
Even though these types of posts act as ads in a way, Instagram will not take a cut from purchases made through these photos. Instead, it will lets brands pay to have its shoppable photos presented as sponsored content to those who do not follow them.
The shopping feature will only be tested on a select group of users with iOS in the U.S. However, Instagram said it will continue to roll out it out to more users over time, and include product recommendations and see what way works best when showcasing products to potential shoppers.
Source: Instagram
