Facebook-owned Instagram looks to be making its own footprint in the land of standalone apps. According to a report from The Verge, Instagram is currently working on an e-commerce shopping app where users could browse and purchase products directly from merchants.
It’s been more than a year since Instagram opened up shoppable organic posts to apparel, jewelry and beauty brands. And while the company won’t release a comment on the rumored shopping app currently in development, Instagram has made a number of moves this year demonstrating its push to go deeper into e-commerce.
In June, Instagram offered a shopping bag icon to a select number of retailers, allowing them to add an e-commerce element within their Stories on the app. The following month it expanded its Collection ads and Shopping Bag icon for Stories to all brands.
Instagram also began offering booking and payment features in May for businesses on the app, making it possible for users to do things like schedule salon appointments or purchase movie tickets via a business Instagram account.
Recruiting retailers and brands that already have solid Instagram followings to sign onto a separate, standalone shopping app may not be much of a challenge for Instagram — especially for brands already seeing value from their Instagram audiences.
According to the The Verge’s sources, Instagram believes it is well positioned to make a major expansion into e-commerce.
Last November, Instagram reported more than 25 million marketers on the app switched their accounts to business profiles. In June, Instagram CEO, Kevin Systrom, announced the app had reached the one billion monthly active user mark. At the time, Instagram was launching IGTV — a standalone app for longform video watching. Instagram also has Direct — a standalone messaging app.
The company has already tested the waters with its ability to move users to standalone apps, and it has a sufficient number of retailers and advertisers already pushing products on Instagram. Building an app for merchants wanting a more direct e-commerce line to their Instagram followers is a reasonable business model — and another opportunity for Facebook (Instagram’s parent company) to pull a bigger cut of the e-commerce pie.
About The Author
Amy Gesenhues is Third Door Media’s General Assignment Reporter, covering the latest news and updates for Marketing Land and Search Engine Land. From 2009 to 2012, she was an award-winning syndicated columnist for a number of daily newspapers from New York to Texas. With more than ten years of marketing management experience, she has contributed to a variety of traditional and online publications, including MarketingProfs.com, SoftwareCEO.com, and Sales and Marketing Management Magazine. Read more of Amy’s articles.
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