Instagram is gearing to launch a new shopping feature for all you shopaholics and soon! The feature is already developed and is under beta testing for its clients and available for viewers in the United States, but still there is no update when it is going to be launched in India.
There are lots of rumors in the market that Instagram is going to launch separate e-commerce application, IG Shopping, but those plans are still have a long time to go before it becomes a reality.
This new shopping feature will be called Instagram Checkout, which will help Instagram users to shop for products from a wide range like fashion, beauty and other brands within Instagram. Some of the leading brands that were invited in the beta testing of the feature include Nike, Zara, Adidas, and others.
Seems like Facebook-owned Instagram is focusing on shoppers looking for fashion and beauty products.
The social media app will be integrating a ‘Checkout’ button to organic posts that have been published by participating brands. As per reports, Instagram is looking to expand Checkout to more businesses in the future, and tags will appear on feed posts, stories and explore. When Instagram users click on the post to see the product tags, they will be offered with a Checkout button, which was previously the ‘View on Website’ button.
Instagram users will get an option to pay online for their purchases by major credit cards, and Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, and PayPal. Interested buyers will have to enter in their payment information like name, email, billing information, and shipping address only once, at the first order and Instagram will save buyers’ payment information for any future transactions.
Also, the photo-uploading app is looking to incorporate other online payment options such as Shopify, BigCommerce, ChannelAdvisor, CommerceHub and others to with the Checkout feature.
Instagram’s plans to enter the multi billion dollar e-commerce market will make the industry much more competitive. Instagram said, “With their protected payment information in one place, they can shop their favorite brands without needing to log in and enter their information multiple times.”
The Checkout feature is set to make the shopping experience for online shoppers easier and hassle-free, especially for “people who have discovered products they want to purchase instantaneously.” Warby Parker co-founder and co-CEO Neil Blumenthal, said, “We started using product tags to make shopping more convenient for our customers.”