Social Media Shopping on Instagram

Untraditional traditional shopping is dead

When Amazon and eBay came along, people said they would never replace the traditional, in-store experience that someone can get, so don’t worry about them. A few years later, malls are closing down because stores are leaving. In this new generation of shopping, we see more and more stores on Instagram and Facebook.

Instagram is leading the charge in 2020/2021. Through Instagram’s shopping feature, brands can tag up to 5 products in a post, and when people click on them, they can see all of the product information. If you like the item, then you are easily linked to the website to complete your purchase. The ease of shopping in this way has increased revenue for large and small brands anywhere from 7%-9% so far.
Pretty soon, Instagram will be rolling out a checkout feature that people can use to buy the products they want without even going to the brand’s website. This is still in beta testing with a few big brands, but should be rolling out for everyone within the next year. 

Why should we use Instagram shopping?

The generations that are utilizing this aspect of social media the most is Gen Z and Millennials. These groups already go to Instagram for the latest trends in most industries, especially retail and D2C businesses. Why not make this platform a one-stop-shop for entertainment and shopping? If the consumer is already in the mood for trendy content and is wanting to match the influencers they are following, their impulse buying decisions are going to be much more frequent and likely here.