TechCrunch reports that Instagram is currently testing a feature that allows it to accept in-app payments. This feature is now available to select retail, service and foodservice businesses in the US and UK. Thanks to it, Instagram users can book tables in selected establishments, pay for a visit to a hair salon or buy cinema tickets within the application. Although (at least for now) Instagram will not directly monetize the new feature, it is expected that its introduction will significantly improve advertising revenue.
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Is Instagram the future of shopping?
This is not the first step towards "commercializing" Instagram. Some time ago, special tags appeared in the application that allow sellers to mark items for sale. After clicking on them, we can go directly to the product page in a given store and make purchases there. The feature is available in 9 countries so far. The ability to connect a credit card to the application transfers the entire purchasing process to its interior, increasing the chances of conversion.
At least in theory. While I support all m-commerce solutions (and Instagram is still mainly a mobile application), consumer disappointment in this field makes me approach each novelty rather skeptically. The main sin of m-commerce (and I'm certainly not talking about smaller, local players here) is still insufficient adaptation to the specifics of a small screen and devices with limited power.
Instagram will allow you to download a copy of the content shared within the application
Long forms, illegible font or problems with the transition to the order finalization page are some of the most common reasons for abandoned carts on mobile. Instagram has a chance to circumvent these problems and offer the user a top-notch experience inside the application. I am not sure if this will work for all industries/services, but the given example with booking a table or buying tickets speaks to me the most.
With over 800 million users, Instagram has been the world's largest virtual destination for the so-called. window shopping. Reason enough to experiment with different forms of monetizing this potential. If one of them is successful, the nature of the platform may change completely in just a few years.
See also:
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