Having lived in a country blessed with the sun all year round, one of the first things I had to do when I first arrived in UK was to get myself some clothing to prepare for the cold weather here.
This would have been a simple process in the past – go to the mall and purchase the clothes. However, I actually found myself browsing online just to see if there are better deals or options available.
Current Situation
This observation seems to be prevalent among consumers where they now firstly go through an online research via online/social media platforms before purchasing their products (Nielsen 2014), in other words, they now have a lot more options available to them than in the past. This could also explain why brands are now actively investing in their online efforts so as to avoid missing a touchpoint in the consumers’ purchase journey.
For example, brands have built their brand presence online by starting up an e-store, created mobile applications for consumers to shop on, and invested in online advertising through social media platforms. In Singapore, some young entrepreneurs have started up their own blogshops where they have their entire retail business on blogging platforms and they then advertise their products on Instagram or Facebook.
In fact, mobile shopping (m-commerce) has actually grown tremendously over the years (expected to grow 300% faster than ecommerce) and will be a great way to push online shopping since it also reaps substantial profits (Coupofy 2015). Instagram has also noticed that their users have been shopping informally on the platform. Some users have taken screenshots of the products they are interested in or even sending a direct message of the picture to themselves to “bookmark” it (Sarah Frier 2016)!
Now think about it, doesn’t it seem like there is always an intentional step on the consumers’ end before they purchase a product? Instead, Instagram is now experimenting with a new concept that aims to bridge the gap between the discovery of products and the actual purchase (Refinery29 2016).
Linking closely with the buyer decision process, Instagram is trying to merge the three crucial steps, ‘information search’, ‘alternative evaluation’ and ‘purchase’ all into one platform. This could possibly save time and cost on both brands and the consumers’ ends.
Shopping on Instagram
Kate Spade from Instagram for Business on Vimeo.
Instagram is now testing the possibilities of brands tagging their photos with the price. Not only that, a simple click on the tag would instantly lead users straight to the product page allowing them to purchase the product straightaway with just a click on the “Shop Now” button (Refinery29 2016). So assuming you follow your favourite brands on Instagram, these posts will automatically come up when you are browsing through your feed. Now you don’t have to do the additional step of clicking on the purchase link in the “bio” of a profile then searching for your product!
It was also reported that if this works out, Instagram will explore the function of saving products to “Favourites” and purchasing it later (Refinery29 2016) – this would solve the issue of consumers screenshotting or sending themselves DMs to “bookmark” an item.
What this means
With such a change in the platform, it is evident that Instagram has been studying the users and their behaviours. Thus, using technology to cater to their needs and making it an enhanced, seamless shopping experience for both the retailers and consumers.
I find this really exciting as I do follow some brands on Instagram. Having this convenience and interesting shopping experience will definitely change the way I use Instagram or shop online. However, besides looking at the good side of this, I see some potential issues which may occur:
- Brands’ usage of social media
Whenever a new form of social media comes about, one common issue that arises from that is where brands (both small and large) choose to dive in to the platform without carefully evaluating if it is needed (redevolution.com 2015) – just because it is usually free! They do so to build presence in any social media platform possible so as to attract a greater pool of (potential) consumers.
I believe that the same thing will be expected from the latest shopping function on Instagram. With only having to spend on paid posts (if they choose to), brands may jump onto the bandwagon. There is definitely no harm in doing so, but would it then alter the image of a brand (such as luxury brands) by selling their products through Instagram?
- Instagram losing its original purpose?
Given such an effective and efficient functionality, it is possible that consumers and brands will be motivated to use Instagram for shopping. But will this community of users eventually focus only on the shopping part of the platform and transform it into just a marketplace or interactive catalogue shared among friends instead of its original intentions? This may just defeat the purpose of capturing and sharing moments that is in line with Instagram’s original focus (Instagram n.d.).
In the end, will this technological change be beneficial to everyone or will it cause a loss of focus on the users, brands and Instagram’s end? Do share your thoughts!
jeanne 