Instagram delivers eCommerce
Instagram has already implemented a few solutions for marketers and brands. Using popular hashtags, placing ads and “shop now” buttons, has made it easier for customers to reach sale’s points. Now, Instagram has tested clickable price tags — how did it go? Well, we couldn’t use Instagram for an hour because of it’s downtime… but except from that, we are on the verge of new era, when it comes to buying what you see.
Shoppable tags on photos are to be an additional feature, that allows checking the price and name of the product, without interfering in scrolling your common Instagram feed. At the bottom of a photo, there will be a Call to Action button: “Tap to view products”. This way the aesthetic aspects of the photos will be preserved until you want to check out more. When the tags appear, you will see the name and the price of the item — still interested? After clicking the tag, you will be redirected to full product photo or a gallery, with detailed description. Only then, you can click to “Shop now”. This is UX master trick as most of Instagram users operate on mobile devices, with no intention of leaving the app when browsing. Same interface, clean look and possibility of returning to regular feed with no time, is more than encouraging.
Why shopping without leaving the app is genius? Mobile users, that want to get more info, would be redirected to search engine or additional app, and, at most times a landing page with a check out. A purchase takes time to consider, scroll through and check. Instagram gave that possibility to it’s users — product details and photos are at hand, without heavy persuasion on placing an order. Internal survey done by Instagram has shown, that most mobile buyer’s decisions take a whole day or more, with only 21% of them done in less than 24h. That’s why Instagram is thinking of adding a “Save” button to this new feature — users could easily return to interesting products.
Shoppable tags were tested on 20 US brands, like Abercrombie & Fitch, Coach, Hollister, JackThreads, J.Crew, Kate Spade, Levi’s Brand, Macy’s, Michael Kors, Tory Burch, Warby Parker and Shopbop. Because of the testing, Instagram experienced downtime at around 10:00 on 1 of November — it took a few minutes to fix the problem, still leaving users concerned about the testing. When we will see the effects? The date is yet unknown.
