Warning: The following news may cause financial stress and excess clothing.
Instagram has launched a new feature – a checkout function – that allows users to shop and buy items without leaving the app.
The move makes sense considering Instagram has been slowly adding more tools for retailers and brands to advertise and sell on the platform, as well as releasing updates that make it easier for users to discover things to buy.
According to Instagram, 130 million users tap on product tags every month
Now users can tap on a product tag, purchase it, receive notifications from Instagram on the progress of their purchase and even return the item – all from within the platform.
The feature is still in beta phase, rolling out in the U.S. first, with only a handful of (very big) retailers available at the moment. But Instagram says additional stores will be launching soon and business owners can apply to be part of the beta program.
They’ve also partnered with PayPal as one of the payment options and with eCommerce platform BigCommerce, enabling businesses to make Instagram transactions.
Let’s all just hope AfterPay isn’t an option too.
Speaking of money, the average cost per click for e-commerce stores advertising on Instagram is $1.03, with the average spend value being $65.00. (Source: Statista).
Lower funnel marketing is where Facebook and Instagram are really demonstrating ROI for retail clients as brand and video struggle to deliver recall and uplift in the cluttered newsfeed real estate.
This update is another string in the bow for marketers to prove the value of social media advertising. Instagram ads could now directly result in sales, without the reliance on pixel tracking data, making attribution much cleaner – one of the biggest challenges internal teams face when trying to prove that social is effective in driving conversions.
For Australian retailers and retail brands – it’s time to prepare.
Have you set up your Facebook Catalogue?
Does your social strategy contain a performance layer?
Is it on your sales team’s radar?
Should this affect your wider marketing activities or budgets?
For more information on the update, click here.
