Instagram has just installed a function that allows users to buy a product directly on the platform from an influencer’s or brand’s post: “Checkout”. And it’s just the feature that’s been missing! The experts at our influencer marketing agency tell you all about this new feature.
Until recently, this was only possible on Instagram via the tracked link inserted in stories, in a “swipe up” link or in the influencer’s biography, and not on the dedicated post… But Instagram has just launched into e-commerce and changed this technical constraint! Indeed, THE latest innovation from the social network of choice for influencers is the introduction of labels to identify purchasable objects in the shared image.
This function was developed after a survey carried out by Instagram, which discovered that 70% of its users (i.e. 1 billion users) log on to the platform every day to follow celebrities and influencers. The social network therefore wanted to enable users to buy what they’re wearing directly on the app, and now they can!
The process takes place in 3 stages:
- The product is identified on the photo as a clickable link
- The product sheet appears, redirecting you to the brand’s website.
- A “swipe up” link to the product appears on the brand’s official website
Proof, thanks to Negin Mirsalehi, creator of the Gisou hair care brand and Instagrammer with 5.3 million followers:
Negin, who teamed up with Oscar de la Renta for this post, sees an opportunity to get closer to her community. With these posts to labels, “I’ll be able to better understand my community’s tastes and which outfits they prefer” she shared, before adding: “The only term we hear about today is conversion. So what converts and what doesn’t? These stats will really give us access to information I’m curious to know.”
Indeed, these “shoppable” posts will enable brands to refine their partnerships with influencers, and easily see who has the strongest prescription power!
For years, Instagram has been the place to check out stories and other photos and videos including product placement and commercial posts to sell products. There are many brands across all industries that use Instagram to showcase their latest products, and they’re always looking for ways to build an Instagram community. Instagram saw an opportunity and made shopping on Instagram a reality.
This new feature fully reflects the impact of influencers in today’s society and their importance to Instagram. The social network is obviously a winner, as it keeps the consumer engaged throughout the buying process, collecting interesting data in the process!
The Facebook-owned platform hasn’t stopped there! Instagram has just launched a new @shop account, managed by an in-house team, featuring some of these famous shoppable posts.
Instagram said, “The content featured on @shop will be entirely focused on community trends. The team running @shop will work with Instagram’s Community Labs to identify trends, brands and designers of interest to the community so that the account is a real-time indicator of what’s emerging on Instagram.”
So we understand the importance of influencers for the platform, which is said to be worth $100 billion today (or 100 times what Facebook paid in 2012). And while the platform doesn’t charge commission on sales generated by these purchasable posts for the time being, influencers are seeing their bargaining power intensify thanks to this new set of statistics!
