Instagram continues its parent company Meta’s push into ecommerce with the addition of shoppable posts in the site for smaller retailers.
From today, consumers using the photo sharing app can message the business they are looking to shop from, add any customisations as required by their device and then simply place an order in the chat.
They can also use the same chat stream to ask questions and track orders, says the company.
The social media giant is also looking to use its Meta Pay payment service to complete purchases, cementing the company’s role across the discovery, sale and payment parts of the retail journey.
The company is looking to leverage the 1 billion or so people that interact with brands and retailers across its apps each day.
Using the new features, small businesses will be able to chat with customers in real-time, create payment requests with item descriptions and prices and request and collect payments.
Instagram and Facebook – both owned by Meta – made an initially foray into ecommerce back in 2020 with the launch of Shops. This, says Meta, will build on this for SMEs and brands.
