Social storefronts are on the rise

Coen Fredriks
Aug 28, 2017 · 4 min read

How online players are competing in the race for social shoppability.

Image: rawpixel

We wake up screen-grabbing looks on Instagram. We watch videos on the treadmill. We tap ‘like’ at the speed of light. Yet credit cards are tucked safely in our wallets. Online players are crafting seamless solutions to the Social Shopping turning point: how do we turn browsing into buying?

Social Media already covers the first chunk of the shopping journey, letting us collect, compare and share products to our friends. The next step would be a smooth journey straight to the shopping cart. Too often that journey lacks in usability, but things are about to change.

From Amazon to Instagram to a brand-admired start up, the race for highly shoppable content is pushing online companies to make social more appealing for commerce.

The Gram

Instagram is crucial to the online marketing strategy of any fashion participant, from influencers to niche designers to luxury brands. Turning this pivotal platform, which already curates style and taste with algorithms, into a place of purchase will make it a brand favourite. Which is why Instagram is hammering away at building new bridges between inspiration and purchase.

Last November Instagram gave 20 major brands the opportunity to join a trial in which they could tag products in an Instagram post. Much like tagging friends, users could tap a symbol for more information on each tagged product. When the information has been considered, the user can tap on Shop Now and move forward to the products web page.

Whilst Instagram has the right e-commerce ambitions, their pace is too slow and the platform is falling behind, becoming increasingly less attractive for brands trying to sell. Tools like the “Shop Now” sponsored posts are also not helping, as many brands feel that it looks too much like an advertisement. Where people are looking for authentic and engaging visual content, Instagram is helping brands push products.

Image Instagram

The Retail Giant

In the midst of all this social shopping struggle, Amazon surprised us all. The retail giant recently launched Amazon Spark for the U.S in the companies mobile app. It entails a feed of shoppable photos mirroring the same user experience as Instagram. Similar to Pinterest, users are also required to choose at least five topics they’re interested in that will influence the feed.

Not only is Amazon Spark beating Instagram at shoppability, it does so without losing authenticity. Consumers are in charge, not brands. Everyone is and can become an influencer, once you become a prime member. Photos are posted by people, instead of budgeted and branded sponsored posts. This is not to say Spark influencers won’t be able to get brands to pay for their posts in the future, but when this happens it will at least have the illusion that it came from a person.

This new feature creates social activity on Amazon itself, rather than elsewhere. The product imagery is connected to the online store, bringing the conversation into conversion, with a single click of a button. Turns out; visual product reviews are the new word of mouth.

The digital trailblazer

Just two days after the Amazon Spark launch, the buzz moved on to Curalate. The visual commerce platform launched an unique third-party-app called Showroom. Brands like Forever21, Guess and Urban Outfitters have joined the band-wagon which Instagram is working hard to halt. But while the Instagram product tagging trial is done, the brands it worked with have proceeded with Curalate as well as other external apps offering similar services.

The app lets brands leave a link in their Instagram bio that directs visitors to a separate feed, mirroring Instagram’s look and feel. The exact item featured on social media is tagged along with other related items, each leading to its own landing page when clicked.

Image: Instagram

Back to the big social media players. Motivated by Instagram’s quest for shoppability, Facebook also has a few tricks up their social shopping sleeve. They have recently rolled out the Collection Tool, an immersive shopping experience making it easier to reach consumers through engaging visual content.

It shows up in our feeds as a video or image with four products below it, consumers can tap on the ad to browse products or tap on the product to learn its specific features, all within the Facebook app. Once you want to purchase a product, you’ll be directed straight to the product page on the advertisers webshop. Well aware of what brands want, Facebook will also launch a metric called “outbound clicks” that shows how many people view the video and end up purchasing a product.

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