Instagram has pushed further into the ecommerce world by launching a new shoppable advert system dubbed “collection” campaigns.
These adverts blend product catalogues with videos and allows users to buy items from the range without having to leave Instagram.
It was first tested on Facebook, Instagram’s owner, and reportedly produced promising results.
Birchbox and Revolve both launched shoppable “collection” campaigns earlier this week.
This marks a concerted effort by social media platforms like Instagram and Snapchat to make the most of the millions of users who follow brands, with an estimated 200 million following fashion brands on Instagram alone.
Instagram already offers users the ability to click through adverts to a brand’s website to make a purchase, but this marks the first time purchasing is available on its own platform.
The photo and video sharing app is becoming and increasingly important source of revenue for Facebook, which saw users drop in North America for the first time ever last year.
“Instagram is a business’s visual shop on mobile, and we’re seeing more people seek out businesses there,” Facebook’s chief operating office Sheryl Sandberg said.
“About two-thirds of the visits to Instagram business profiles are from people who don’t yet follow them. This is how many businesses are finding new customers.”
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