Instagram Launches In-App Shopping Feature in Canada

March 20, 2018

Ever find yourself saying “I want that” when scrolling through Instagram? Well, things either just got a whole lot easier or expensive—or maybe both.

Instagram has launched their shopping feature in Canada, allowing businesses to tag products in their organic posts. Customers and users can then shop for those products seamlessly with a simple tap or click. The feature is also rolling out to France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Australia and the U.K.

“People come to Instagram every day to discover and shop products from businesses they love,” said Susan Rose, the director of product marketing for Instagram. “We want that to be a seamless experience. Whether it’s a local artisan, florist or clothing store, now shopping your favourite Canadian businesses has never been easier on Instagram.”

Business accounts on Instagram will now be able to tag individual items, then link out with a price point that allows the viewer to easily buy it. The new feature seems best designed for fashion, as a company can tag the shoes or purse someone is wearing in a photo and easily display how to buy them. The idea is to make shopping “less transactional and more actionable,” according to an Instagram blog post.

Over 200 million people visit an Instagram business profile each day, and two-thirds of those are people who do not even follow the business. Many people use Instagram for inspiration in terms of fashion and what to wear, and this new feature will help convert those ideas into real sales. Last November, Instagram announced that they have over 25 million business profiles, a number that is increasing quickly.

If a business makes nine or more shopping posts, they will unlock the shop tab on their profile. When a user clicks that tab, they will be brought to every post that company has ever published that has actionable items to purchases, creating a sort of Instagram carousel of products.

Shopping on Instagram originally launched in the U.S. last year. When it launched, the photo-sharing platform reported that 19 per cent of users who tapped on a post with a tagged product ended up clicking “shop now.”

Shopify has been experimenting with the Instagram shop feature for their merchants, integrating the ability to sell on the platforms late last year.