In anticipation of the holiday shopping season, Instagram announced three new features that make it easier for users to make purchases in the app.
Updates include:
- A new “Shopping Collection” that allows users to save products they encounter on a Story or Feed directly to their profile — creating an easy way to browse (and purchase) items that caught their eye
- Allowing users to buy products from video posts. (Instagram added similar, shop-able product tags to image posts in September.)
- A redesign of the Shopping tab that allows users to view a business profile’s purchasable items in one place.
Not included in the rollout was the standalone shopping app that the Verge reported Instagram is building. Sources told the Verge that the rumored app would allow users to browse and buy products from businesses and merchants they follow within the platform.
According to Instagram, 80 percent of its users follow a brand by choice last year.
“People consistently cite that one of their favorite things to do on Instagram is to shop,” product manager Layla Amjadi told AdWeek. “Everyone is finding different ways to shop on Instagram.”
Other social sharing apps are exploring in-app commerce as well. In September, Snapchat announced a partnership with Amazon that allows users to buy products from the e-commerce site by taking a picture of the item with their Snapchat camera.
Cyber Monday, here we come.