Instagram plans to roll out a direct shopping feature in India next year: Report

Dec 4, 2018, 15:06 IST

Instagram is reportedly planning to bring a ‘buy’ option to its users in India in 2019, Mint reported. The feature will allow users to explore and shop the products within its app.
It will also eventually add payment gateways within the platform to enable direct selling.
Currently, Instagram allows users to shop with the ‘Swipe-up’ feature available in the Instagram stories.

Instagram has been aggressively focusing on updating the shopping experience on its platform.

Now the app is planning to bring a ‘buy’ feature that will let its users shop within its app to Indian users next year, Mint reported citing people aware of the matter.

Tapping the ‘buy’ button will land users on affiliated retailers’ websites for purchases, according to the report. Instagram will ultimately let its users complete a transaction within the app. It plans to also add payment methods eventually, a move that could challenge e-commerce companies, said the Mint report.
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Earlier, Instagram launched shopping through Instagram stories letting users ‘swipe-up’ to view and buy the products from the merchant’s website. India is, reportedly, the second-largest user market for instagram contributing to the growth of the company.

In September, Instagram was said to be developing a standalone shopping app in the US. That app would have allowed users to buy directly from retailers they follow on their feeds. That was in addition to its existing shopping features that it had rolled out in the US last year.

Instagram has also helped many small retailers in the US get a foothold commercially by launching on Instagram compared to expensive conventional marketing, Business Insider reported earlier.

Instagram is coming after Amazon with plans to launch a standalone shopping app

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