Selling products on social media is not anything new, Facebook has allowed it, Twitter made it possible for a while before they didn’t and Pinterest allows its followers to shop. Well now one more social media network could very well be joining the product selling game.
Wired reported that starting next week Instagram would start partnering with some retailers to allow shoppers to make purchases off of Instagram. Instagram will allow certain retail partners to tag products in the photos they post on Instagram.
People clicking on these tags can get a more detailed description of the product and if they click a second time, they can buy the product through the retailer’s website.
Warby Parker, Kate Spade and J. Crew are just some of the brands announced at the moment, Wired reported.
Here is why retailers could benefit from selling on Instagram:
It Creates More Brand Loyalty: Shoppers are already following a ton of brands on Instagram. It only makes sense to make it possible to purchase items from some of their favorites. I think this is great way to not only create more brand loyalty, but create more awareness around certain products.
[Related: The Demise of the Twitter Buy Button]
Other Social Networks Are Doing It: The age-old question comes to mind here, “If all of your friends jump off the bridge, will you?” Well in the case of being another social network partnering with retail partners to sell products, absolutely. Has it been widely successful for all social networks, no. Twitter for example, took away its buy button. While I don’t know how Pinterest is doing with its buy button, it is still being made a possibility for shoppers.
Visual Social Networks Are Best: Instagram, Pinterest, Facebook are all the best types of social networks to sell products on. Retailers go to great lengths to make their products visually stimulating, so making these visually stimulating posts buyable is an excellent idea. Social media is already a major channel for retailers to promote products, making the products buyable is a great way to see if social is offering true monetary gains for the brands.
[Related: Pinterest Launches Buy Button]
Could Small Businesses Take Part in This? Aside from major brands, I personally follow a lot of small businesses on Instagram, I think could be a great possibility for them as well. These small businesses go to great lengths to promote their small businesses on Instagram, this would surely benefit them.
My Prediction?: While I haven’t heard anything at all about what could come next, I could see retailers using Snapchat or Instagram Stories as a way to sell products. Think about it, Snapchat images go away in a flash, retailers could make it a “flash sale.” Promotions like, “Buy this handbag before the image disappears…” Just my thought about what I see going forward in the social media arena.
Daniela Forte is Multichannel Merchant’s Associate Editor