E-commerce platform BigCommerce has expanded its collaboration with Instagram to make shopping on the social media platform available to merchants beyond the US to also include Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, and the UK.
Beginning today, BigCommerce merchants in supported geographies will gain access to new organic features designed to enhance their business presence on Instagram by seamlessly integrating product discovery and making it easier for the more than 800 million Instagram users to discover and learn more about products.
Through shopping on Instagram, BigCommerce merchants can tag products in Instagram posts, making contextual information such as pricing and product descriptions accessible with a single tap, enriching product discovery without leaving the Instagram experience.
When ready to make a purchase, product tags quickly and conveniently direct shoppers to the associated product page on the merchants’ BigCommerce store, streamlining the checkout experience.
In October 2017, BigCommerce announced its participation in enabling shopping on Instagram for its US merchants as part of a limited beta. Today’s announcement marks the first time businesses in Australia will gain access to shopping on Instagram.
Jordan Sim, group product manager at BigCommerce, said: “Up to this point, social media platforms have predominantly been used by brands to generate awareness with current and prospective customers.
“Though many platforms have tried to deliver additional value by adding shopping features, most social commerce initiatives have been lacking.
“With the arrival of shopping on Instagram, brands now have a powerful feature to bring product discovery and sales conversion even closer together.
“And with Instagram being one of the world’s fastest-growing and dominant social platforms today, retailers will not want to miss out on this growth opportunity.
“More than 500 million people use Instagram daily, and many are already actively engaging with the brands they love on the platform. Yet, to date, Instagram has lacked the ability to engage shoppers more deeply, beyond a ‘like’ or passive interaction.
“Shopping on Instagram helps push consumers beyond the like by offering a seamless way to discover new products within the app experience and buy those products with ease.”
