Instagram trials in-app purchasing with leading brands in US

Social media platform Instagram works on making in-app purchases possible. The platform teams up with major brands like Adidas, Anastasia Beverly Hills, ColourPop, Huda Beauty, KKW Beauty, Kylie Cosmetics, Nike and Ouai Hair to trial in-app shopping on the Instagram app. In a few weeks, US-based users are able to make purchases from within their feeds.

At present, purchases via Instagram are done by viewing product advertisements through Instagram stories and then linking to the brand’s own site. Now, as part of the beta-trial, when a user taps on a “View the Product” button, they will see a “Checkout on Instagram” option rather than being linked to a webshop. After entering personal information, consumers can buy and manage their orders directly in the app. After the first purchase, personal information is saved so they can be used for future purchases.

The brands taking part in the trail all have lots of followers. Huda Beauty has 34 million followers, Kylie Cosmetics has nearly 20 million followers and Nike has over 85 million followers. These businesses are selected based on their adoption and performance of shopping on Instagram. Additionally, the social platform has tried to choose brands that reflect a wide variety of products and price points.

Instagram spokesperson Paige Cohen also intimates that the platform will charge a “small fee” to businesses selling through the platform. This way, the platform can fund the programs and products that make checkout possible. That includes credit card processing costs and other transaction-related expenses, she said.

Influencer platform

Instagram is rapidly growing in popularity with social media users and adding in-app shopping builds both on this and on-going work by the site to become a shopping portal. A global study compiled by Rakuten Marketing reveals that YouTube is no longer the most popular platform for influencer content. It is Instagram that is the most commonly used platform to view influencer content (65%), surpassing YouTube by 3%.