Social Media Giant Facebook, is gradually moving into retail as the company partners with more than 20 brands so as to allow Instagram users buy clothes, accessories and makeup on the social network without leaving the app.
‘Checkout on Instagram’ is a step up from previous shopping features on the service, which ultimately pushed buyers to a brand’s web page to complete their transactions. Users were then typically required to enter payment and shipping details, and often times sign up for new user accounts, prompting many to bail on the transaction before even completing it.
This has changed now however, as Facebook has built an entirely in-app retail experience. This time all users need to do, is tap on the item(s) they want to buy, select further details such as size and colour, and then head to a payment screen where they can pay with the credit card and shipping information they have already attached to their Instagram account.
Once it is launched, the new feature will be used by brands including Nike, Uniqlo, Kylie Cosmetics and Hennes & Mauritz (H&M). Instagram has not revealed how much its cut of the purchases will be, and according to theguardian.com, the company (Facebook) did not reply to a request for comment.
Facebook Inc’s shift to e-commerce via Instagram, suggests a new source of revenue for the company. It is also a new way to encourage users to enter their payment information, paving the way for Facebook to launch other paid-for services. The shopping and checkout features are not available in adverts and can only be used for posts on the newsfeed and on Instagram Stories, where they will disappear after 24 hours.
Checkout on Instagram arrives just two weeks after the Facebook chief executive, Mark Zuckerberg, announced his intention to shift his company towards a new, “privacy focused” model. The focus of the announcement was on Zuckerberg’s decision to encrypt communications between Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp users, a move which prevents Facebook from scanning the resulting chats in order to further personalise advertising on the site (although the company is still able to use metadata about conversations, such as who was messaged and when, for such purposes).
The company has said it will not share user information with the brands that sell on the platform, except the information required to make the purchase. But retailers value the ability to keep in contact with customers and that hurdle could slow down the adoption of the the new feature. That coupled with the price to the seller.
The new e-commerce service ‘Checkout on Instagram’ is currently only available to users in the United States.
