Instagram Shopping Becomes Custom Explore Channel, Stories Tags – TechCrunch



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Instagram adopts its true identity as a mail order catalog. The question will be how many electricity merchants will give Instagram after seeing what their Facebook parent did to the news agencies that depended on it. In a move that might pit Pinterest against Wish, Instagram launches Shopping in its app to allow users to discover and consider possible purchases before clicking on the merchant's website.

Today, Instagram Explore gets a personalized shopping channel for items you think you need most. And he expanded his Shopping Stories for Instagram Stories to all viewers around the world after a limited test in June, and it allows brands from 46 countries to add the shopping cart icon to Stories that users can click to buy this that they saw.

Instagram clearly wants to move from the stage where people get buying ideas to become a measurable gateway to their expenses. 90 million people are already using their Shopping tags every month, he announced today. New features might catch the attention of users and make them see more ads. But perhaps more importantly, demonstrating that Instagram can boost free retail sales via Stories and Explore could boost their appetite for buying Instagram ads in order to amplify their reach and boost the conversion channel. With 25 million companies on Instagram, but only 2 million advertisers, the application can significantly increase its turnover.

For now, Instagram is maintaining its "no comment" as to whether it runs on a stand-alone Instagram Shopping app according to a report from The Verge last month. Instagram first launched its Shopping tags for feeds in 2016. However, users are still directed to merchant sites for the final payment stage, in part because retailers want to control their relationships with customers. customers. But in the long run, allowing businesses to opt for a payment offer on Instagram could shorten the funnel and allow more users to buy.

Shopping joins the theme channels For You, Art, Beauty, Sports, Fashion and others launched at Explore in June. The Explore algorithm will show you the items marked by the shops of the companies you follow and the ones you may like depending on who you follow and the content of your purchases. This marks the first time that you can see a dedicated shopping space inside Instagram, and this could become an endless navigation tool for those who need a retail therapy.

With Shopping stickers, brands can choose to add one by story and customize the color to their photo or video. One tap opens the product details page and another taps the merchant's site. Companies will be able to see the number of clicks on their Shopping sticker and the number of people who have accessed their website. Partnerships with Shopify (over 500,000 merchants) and BigCommerce (more than 60,000 merchants) will allow retailers of all sizes to easily use Instagram shopping stickers.

What about the purchase of Shopping at IGTV? A spokesman for the company says, "IGTV and live video have exciting opportunities for brands to connect more closely with their customers, but we do not plan to bring buying tools to these surfaces for the moment.

For now, the new purchase features are a gift for traders hoping to increase sales. But it was the same for the Facebook referral traffic sent to publishers a few years ago. These outlets have quickly become dependent on Facebook, have changed their recruitment and content strategies to get rid of this traffic, and are now in a desperate situation after Facebook has shut down.

Retail merchants should not take the same bait. Instagram Shopping may be a good bonus, but how much it emphasizes functionality and highlights the Explore channel. Merchants should always work to develop a relationship without direct intermediaries with their customers, encouraging them to bookmark their sites or sign up for newsletters. The favor of Instagram could disappear with a change in its algorithm, and retailers must always be ready to fend for themselves.

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