The photo and video sharing social media platform, Instagram, is rolling out a trial of a new shopping program in which users can shop and check out within the app.
According to a report in Digiday, the company is testing the program with more than twenty beauty and fashion brands that will include direct-to-consumer companies as well as popular companies. As it stands, users can swipe a product on Instagram and are brought to the vendor’s website to place an order. This will make shopping on Instagram easier.
During the trial, users that click on the “View the Product” button will see a “Checkout on Instagram” choice instead of being brought to the vendor’s website. Payment information entered on Instagram can be saved and orders can be managed from the app.
The ability to shop in the app will roll out during the coming weeks for U.S.-based mobile users. They can purchase in the app from Adidas, Anastasia Beverly Hills, ColourPop, Huda Beauty, KKW Beauty, Kylie Cosmetics, Nike and Ouai Hair, noted the report.
Digiday pointed out that the brands that are taking part in the pilot are among the most popular ones on Instagram. Paige Cohen, a spokeswoman for Instagram, told Digiday the brands were chosen based on shopping performance on the social media platform. The company also aimed at offering users a wide variety of products and price points when choosing the brands to beta test the feature with.
Instagram plans to charge what Cohen said in the report a “small fee” to the businesses that sell their products on Instagram. That will go to make checkout possible, including processing credit card payments and transaction-related expenses. The report noted this isn’t the only shopping feature the company plans to roll out this year, although it’s not clear what it has planned.
