Instagram will integrate e-commerce features

Thursday, November 3, 2016 - 09:28 by Mike Price

Image sharing service Instagram has become one of the most popular platforms in the social media sphere, in part as a result of being snapped up by Facebook and catapulted into the spotlight by its celebrity users.

Now the firm has announced that it is set to offer fans the ability to carry out shopping online from within its mobile app, enabling them to quickly identify and purchase any items that appear in the images they encounter, according to the Daily Mail.

The trial of this capability will be launched later this month, specifically targeting users who own Apple devices, including the iPhone and iPad.

Instagram is essentially seeking to monetise its platform more effectively by generating revenue from the direct sale of products, rather than solely from advertising, endorsement deals and other forms of promotion.

In an official blog post the firm pointed out that the rise of m-commerce has had a significant impact on when and where people carry out safe shopping online. It said that it aims to streamline the user experience and offer purchasing opportunities alongside its existing features.

Of course, Instagram is not setting up an entire retail infrastructure to cope with this change of strategy, but will, instead, be working in conjunction with a number of well established outlets to offer a ‘Shop Now’ button within its app.

This sounds like a step in the right direction, especially from a commercial perspective, although other social media services have attempted to embrace e-commerce in the past, with mixed results.

Twitter is one such example, although it did not quite manage to turn its fortunes around with the launch of its own shopping button. But with its serious global clout and loyal user base, Instagram could be in a better position to secure success with this endeavour.