Instagram in collaboration with Australian-founded ecommerce platform BigCommerce is making shopping available on its social network to Aussie businesses and consumers.
The deal sees BigCommerce merchants in Australia among the first to let people browse and shop products directly on Instagram in a single click.
According to Instagram, with 11% of all Australian smartphone users having purchased via social platforms and 13% buying something they’d seen on social media in 2017 (PayPal), there is clearly an appetite for social selling.
BigCommerce has expanded its collaboration with Instagram to make shopping on Instagram available to merchants not only in Australia, but also in the United States, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom.
{loadposition peter}BigCommerce says more than 500 million people are active on Instagram every day, and 60% of users say they discover new products on Instagram.
“Through shopping on Instagram, BigCommerce merchants can now tag products in Instagram posts, making contextual information such as pricing and product descriptions accessible with a single tap, enriching product discovery without leaving the Instagram experience. When ready to make a purchase, product tags quickly and conveniently direct shoppers to the associated product page on the merchants’ BigCommerce store, streamlining the checkout experience,” Big Commerce says.
Jordan Sim, Group Product Manager at BigCommerce said: "Up to this point, social media platforms have predominantly been used by brands to generate awareness with current and prospective customers. Though many platforms have tried to deliver additional value by adding shopping features, most social commerce initiatives have been lacking.
“With the arrival of shopping on Instagram, brands now have a powerful feature to bring product discovery and sales conversion even closer together. And with Instagram being one of the world's fastest-growing and dominant social platforms today, retailers will not want to miss out on this growth opportunity.
“More than 500 million people use Instagram daily, and many are already actively engaging with the brands they love on the platform. Yet, to date Instagram has lacked the ability to engage shoppers more deeply, beyond a 'like' or passive interaction. Shopping on Instagram helps push consumers beyond the like by offering a seamless way to discover new products within the app experience and buy those products with ease."