Instagram has announced it will allow retailers to post prices and product descriptions in their posts, pushing its ecommerce capabilities.
Launching first in the US with brands like Kate Spade, J Crew and Warby Parker, the move follows Facebook‘s implementation of the same system, which it has now passed on to the photo sharing app it owns.
The new addition is designed to bridge the gap between apps which provide inspiration and those which allow purchases and is expected to have a profound effect on how retailers approach social media.
Instagram‘s global head of business James Quarles said: “It is like going from the shop window to the cash register with missing steps in between.”
Last year the app trialed the “Shop Now” button which took users, of which 300 million are expected to log on daily, directly to the retailers’ own platform.
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Following the trial, it plans to roll out the feature internationally, as most of its users are outside of the US.
Instagram has said it also plans to develop the new feature further, allowing users to see prices of items in videos and flag them for later purchase.
Recently, its parent company Facebook announced various additions to its shopping feature, aimed at providing changing the relationship between retailers and the social media platform.
It is testing an update which allows users to order food directly from a business page if the supplier uses delivery.com, and users can now also now buy tickets directly from Eventbrite or Ticketmaster through the app.
Marketplace was also launched, aiming to enter the market as a competitor to eBay and Craigslist.
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