As e-commerce continues to take up the world in buying and selling of products and services, Instagram has become the latest entrant into the seemingly lucrative field.
On Tuesday, Instagram added an option for users to buy products shown off in posts by selected brands. Initially, brands that posted their products, would provide an alternative link outside the app for one to make a purchase.
The new “checkout” is not fully rolled out. It has just been launched in a beta version of the app and is currently available in the United States with a limited number of brands allowed to showcase their products.
“When you find a product you love, you can now buy it without leaving the app,” said the Silicon Valley-based of Facebook.
The entrance of Instagram, a section of Facebook into the e-commerce sector is likely to ignite the debate over the safety of data given the parent company’s recent data issues of its users. The information entered while purchasing something via Instagram will be stored for “future use” according to Instagram.
Brands already using the feature are Adidas, Burberry, Dior, H&M, Nike, Oscar de la Renta, Prada and Warby Parker (glasses retailer.)
The Use of Images
Instagram has always thrived over other social media through its use of imaging to pass information across. The majority of users use the platform to post images of themselves or those of the products they wish to purchase or sell.
Instagram is said to have an average of between 800 million and 1 billion monthly active users in the world (by stats of 2018). In Kenya, the platform has at least 1 million users with the majority of them being young people.
With so many millennials using the app, brands will scramble to appeal to them and converting them into purchasing their products, a move that is likely to revolutionize Instagram.
”Checkout is just one part of our long-term investment in the shopping,” Instagram announced on its blog. “We’re excited to introduce even more ways for people to enjoy shopping on Instagram this year.”