The Newsstand - November 2018

Instagram Gets Serious About E-Commerce

As we expected, Instagram is not done releasing new e-commerce features for its platform. The Facebook-owned app recently announced two brand new shopping features in an attempt to further move into the e-commerce sphere. Let’s dig into the details:

Shoppable Tags in Stories

Remember those product tags on posts you could tap on for details and links? They are now available for Instagram Stories, too! Users can simply tap on products in Stories to find out more details and navigate over to the shop to make a purchase.

Personalized Shopping Channel in ‘Explore’

Instagram’s popular Explore page will now feature a Shopping channel, so users can browse relevant accounts organized by their interest and find new retailers to buy from.

The Standalone ‘IG Shopping’ App

Clearly, rolling out new features in the existing app wasn’t enough. Instagram is now reportedly developing a standalone app just for shopping!

The new app, rumored to be called ‘IG Shopping’, will let users browse collections of products from sellers they follow on Instagram and purchase them within the app.

Instagram has refused to comment on the subject, so there’s no news of when the app might launch. This means it might get canceled before it’s even released.

However, sources report the app is still under-development and chances are it will be a huge step in Instagram’s journey to move further into e-commerce.

Snapchat Partners with Amazon for Visual Shopping

This is big news for anyone still wondering about Snapchat’s role in e-commerce. In an attempt to move beyond wacky dog filters and celebrity snap-stories, the platform has partnered with Amazon to let users shop for products right from the app.

That’s right. With its newest visual search feature, Snapchat will let you point your camera at a product or barcode and snap a picture of it to find the product on Amazon.

Users can simply press and hold on the screen to launch an Amazon page that lets them learn more about the product or make a purchase.

Snapchat’s attempt to up its e-commerce game just shows us how the platform is gearing up to compete with Instagram and Pinterest, who have also recently released tons of new shopping features for their users.

Why Marketers Should Care

This latest visual search partnership has opened new doors for Amazon retailers, requiring barely any effort on their part.

With this new e-commerce channel, retailers on Amazon can now come up with innovative ways to sell their products to Snapchat users. However, the new service is still being tested and there have been rumors of a slow rollout. Moreover, Snapchat has not yet disclosed any financial details about the partnership.

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