There’s a big shift happening on Instagram — and, no, I’m not talking about your disappearing likes. Instagram has been quietly laying the groundwork to become an online shopping paradise.
One year after introducing Instagram Shopping, which lets businesses link to specific products, the company added Checkout, which lets you buy those products without leaving the app. The company still only lets a handful of brands participate in Checkout — insisting that it’s still “early days” — but the company has been clear that it sees shopping as one of its “big bets” for the future.
And there are signs this effort has been ramping up in recent months. The company added an augmented reality try-on feature, and introduced curated shopping “collections” for the holidays. And with Facebook’s latest arch-nemesis, TikTok, now also delving into the world of e-commerce, you can bet Instagram won’t be far behind.