Todd Sumamno
Each of us has certainly had the opportunity to see several dozen, hundreds, and even thousands of successful Internet stores that function without any problems, whether they are independent on their domains or on social networks.
As the user experience simply spoke for itself, the online stores that had their own webshops were always more reliable and we somehow trusted them more compared to some Facebook shops that were just starting to develop their business at the time. It is the same as when you decide to buy eggs and milk in a large retail chain and not in an outdoor market because you know that in the store you buy what is of proven origin and quality, packaged, with a declaration and expiration date.
However, over time, entrepreneurs managed to place their products on Facebook, and people began to trust it, just as everyone finds over time their trusted person in the outdoor market who has the best, always fresh milk extracted from cows they raise, whose quality is extraordinary.
As we quickly got used to having ‘confidence’ in Facebook stores, so we got used even faster to shopping via Instagram, which used to function more than unsafely when it comes to the rights of consumers, i.e. customers, and in general when it comes to the security of personal data of any individual.
Let’s be clear, any purchase that is not regulated by law, and in the article, we are talking about authorized webshops and sites that are legally regulated, is not safe and every time you make a purchase, you reveal your personal information and risk being cheated for money.
As we mentioned above, when you buy something in the outdoor market, you can only trust the seller’s word. There, no one can guarantee you the goods you buy, their origin, and quality. The same is if you get food poisoning with a product bought there. You would not be able to legally do almost anything to that seller while, if someone cheated you in a supermarket and sold you expired goods, that would be a problem of huge proportion (perhaps of a proportion of thousands or millions – we are talking about money). What did we want to explain with this?
During the ‘inbox’ purchase, you did not have any protection, so anyone could sell you anything, and if you were deceived, you would be absolutely unable to do anything about it. In addition, a lot of time was wasted on the mere correspondence between sellers and potential buyers, sending personal info, waiting for a response, etc. However, social networks (i.e. Facebook) saw this problem and provided a solution that will in some way protect you and provide you with a safe and, above all, easy purchase through them, and with some simple tools, such as a tool called Shopify, it provided the instant purchase of items during which you avoid that boring correspondence and waiting. So, a Facebook shop is a way to make purchases through this social network with ease.
Following the same principle and with the same idea, in order to turn its platform more towards business, Facebook decided to insert the “shop” option in Instagram, where anyone will be able to make quick, easy, and safe purchases, without contact with sellers and correspondence on private chats.
What’s an Instagram Shop and What’s Its Use?
First of all, the Instagram shop is a way for this social network to attract businesses to its platform and thus gain on the population whose average age is more than 16 years. Of course, by this, we do not mean that Instagram is used only by kids but that they are dominant when it comes to that social network.
The advantage of this shop is that no one will be forced to watch an advertisement and everyone’s scrolling through the feed will not be slowed down. Only a clickable purchase button will appear on the paid promotional announcement, which you will encounter sooner or later, this time in the “price tag” form.
Where Does Clicking on a Button Lead Us?
This is a question that many will ask. We need to understand that people today are still skeptical, especially when it comes to “buy now” buttons on social networks and the Internet in general, and that most of them are afraid that if they click on such a button they will give away their personal data, expose bank account, etc. Do not be afraid, it will not happen in this case.
By clicking the “buy now” button, you are actually going to a page where you will be able to find out more information about the product, the seller, the price, and all the other things that generally interest you. Only then does the option for the actual purchase of the item appear, where again, there is a certain procedure that is regulated by the terms of use.
Why do we mention the terms of use in the text so much? Until not so long ago, almost all over the world, you had the opportunity to read, hear, and we sincerely hope not to feel on your own skin how the so-called scams used to work when it comes to Internet sales. All this was possible until online shopping was officially regulated by law. Today, almost every webshop, payment card usage, payment system, and even Facebook and Instagram shops, have certain terms of use that all participants must adhere to.
Shop Without Sales Fee
The good thing for young people, and all other businesses that would opt for this trade model, is precisely in the announcement of Instagram that it will not charge a fee on items sold. Where then does Instagram see earnings in this for itself? If you want your ad to show to people who do not follow you, you will have to pay extra. There is no fee, but marketing is inevitable.
Instagram is not currently focused on sales within its platform but only redirects to, say, Amazon, where shopping will actually take place, as would be done in any affiliate program, except that there is no affiliate here.
Why’s a Clickable “Price Tag” Useful?
Before we start talking about the benefits of this more than useful update on Instagram, we will recall that you could not post links anywhere on this social network until recently. The only place where a clickable link – in this case to a website that was built either by hiring a professional developer or created by yourself – could stand was “bio” or a story but only if you reach 10k followers. So, if you had a sales channel you had to send all the people to your Instagram profile to click on the link, which took time and disrupted the users’ scrolling.
With a clickable “price tag” icon, there is no need for that anymore. Everything that your customers are interested in, they can see immediately, in a redirected, new window that will open and thus keep their position in the previously viewed feed. So, each user will be able to continue where they left off. In addition to scrolling, Instagram thought of the ease of shopping, so you will be able to see transparent product images, prices, descriptions… everything that an average customer actually needs to decide to leave the money exactly to you.
To summarize: Is it now clear to you all what Instagram has achieved with this move? By inserting the “shop” option, businesses that avoided Instagram because of everything we mentioned earlier now no longer have to do so. Clickable links, redirections to sales sites, and transparent and designated stores will provide businesses with more traffic through this social network, and that is what everyone needs.
The statistics show how effective Instagram shop is. As many as 130 million Instagram accounts tap on Instagram shopping posts to learn more about products every month. Due to the fact that users are presented with products in an entirely different fashion, which is a combination of both simple and easy to use, the outdated user journey from social media to store has been transformed. So, the Instagram shop is redefining what it means to shop online.
With its shop, Instagram has massively influenced e-commerce, opening up a whole new world for B2C marketing. As the platform continues to grow, so do its innovative and imaginative features (product stickers and similar). Some logical, further sequence of events is the introduction of an affiliate program on Instagram but that is only our assumption. And what do you think? What is the next big thing that awaits us all on Instagram?
