The Benefits of Instagram Shopping for eCommerce Businesses
Instagram is an app that gives a boost to the influencer lifestyle. It makes people yearn to look and live like the influencers they see. It makes Instagram one of the most vital tools for eCommerce businesses. The business can tap into the user’s desires and aspirations and sell them items that they need to achieve their dream lifestyle.
How Does Instagram Shopping Help Businesses?
The shopping feature has made Instagram the ultimate social media app. 83% of users use Instagram to discover new services and products. Compared to this, 80% of people who have discovered a product on another platform head on to Instagram to find out its popularity(social approval and appeal) before they make a purchase. For both of these scenarios, the Instagram shopping option is beneficial.
Here are the other benefits of the Instagram shopping feature for businesses:
1. Set Collections
How can a potential customer discover products on your webpage? If the website is cleanly divided into collections and types of products, it is easier for the potential customer to navigate through it. Also, a user spends only around 38 seconds on an eCommerce webpage. Similarly, on Instagram, where there are loads of competitors, the ability to set collections on the storefront is a blessing.
The eCommerce store can divide the store into trending items, seasonal collections, and products based on types (men, women, children, clothing, accessories, etc.).
2. Product Details
A product detail page is necessary to give information to the potential customer. It could include the price, dimensions, color, and other descriptions. In the Instagram shopping feature, once the customer clicks on the product, they go on to the product detail page within the app. This way, the customer is not turned off by the app redirecting to a browser to view the product details.
3. Checkout on Instagram
Instagram is a platform where people are looking at influencers’ picture-perfect lives. If the influencer has placed an antique vase in a picture of their home and gives the link to the Instagram shop to purchase the same, the sales will be higher. It is because the person following them probably loves to decorate their own home. Looking at the picture, they imagine that their house can look just as perfect as the influencers. So, they make an impulse buying decision.
However, if they are led to another page or a browser pop open where they have to proceed to check out, they might do a double-take on their decision. The Instagram shopping feature ensures that the process through attraction, interest, desire, and action is seamless. The checkout option within the app ensures that the person makes the impulse buying decision because they don’t get time to think.
4. Integrated Meta Payment
Alongside the checkout option in the app, Meta has launched Facebook Pay which is integrated across all Meta apps. As a result, it makes the shopping experience even more seamless and hassle-free. It also allows customers to trust the payment process because they are used to paying with Facebook Pay. Compared to this, if they are led to another website where they must enter their card details, they would be skeptical about purchasing. So, it results in an abandoned cart.
It also relieves the business of catering to payment problems. If the customer is facing payment trouble, they will contact Meta customer support rather than the company. This way, the store can focus on the troubles regarding product quality, delivery timelines, and other questions.
5. Launch Collections
Creating hype for an event or a product launch can deliver great results. However, just posting a countdown on the stories or the Instagram profile does not make as much of an impact as giving a personal reminder. When the eCommerce store is advertising a product or collection launch, customers in the US can set reminders for it. As a result, when the collection is launched, the customers who set the reminder purchase it immediately.
This also helps in increasing the brand’s value because the eCommerce business can portray that the product is in limited stock. If the customer has purchased previously, this fear of scarcity and losing out will lead them to immediately make the purchase.
6. Retarget Previous Customers
Retaining previous customers is very crucial to the eCommerce business’ success. It is because acquiring a new customer is five to seven times the cost of retaining the customer. So, while it is essential to reach new audiences, it is even more critical to retain and retarget old ones. They also act as brand ambassadors and promote the brand through word-of-mouth marketing if they are satisfied.
Instagram has a discovery feed based on the previous engagement of the user. So, if a customer purchased an item from your store or commented on a post, this feature can help keep the brand on top of their mind, so they finalize their purchase or make another purchase.
7. Live Shopping Feature
Instagram recently launched the IGTV shopping feature. It allows customers to interact with businesses directly. So, brands can do live streams of products and answer the questions of the audience. These live streams can also feature product demos that help customers to see the product performance for themselves before they order through the Instagram app.
Final Words
Instagram is one of the most popular apps among young audiences who businesses mostly target. The Instagram shopping feature is a great way to boost the product and give potential customers a seamless shopping experience.
Once the potential customers become customers, the shopping features also help retarget them. So, it reduces the marketing costs of businesses because they are marketing to a customer who is well aware of the product quality and has established trust.
Even with all these benefits, Instagram shopping can be difficult to maneuver for businesses new to the platform. Or some businesses may not have the resources to make efficient use of this essential business tool. If your business belongs to any one of these categories, head on to our website where you can find professionals that have spent hundreds of hours perfecting the Instagram shopping formula. You can book a consultation or shoot us an email too!
