Instagram has today announced that it will be expanding its shopping service across IGTV and Reels to its followers globally.
The feature is ideal for creators and influencers who use their accounts for business purposes to direct their fan s to their online stores. With the feature, users can tag specific products in their videos, which are then available to purchase from within the app.
Instagram says, later this year, it will be testing the shopping feature on Reels, its newest feature.
“Digital creators and brands help bring emerging culture to Instagram, and people come and get inspired by them. By bringing shopping to IGTV and Reels, we’re making it easy to shop directly from videos. And in turn, helping sellers share their story, reach customers, and make a living,” said Instagram COO Justin Osofsky, in a statement.
Facebook has been making shopping an increasingly central part of Instagram, Early this year, the company made in-app checkout available to all US businesses and has said it plans to redesign its app with a dedicated shopping section and allow influencers to sell products in live video.
Shopping was first made available in normal feed posts, Stories since 2018 on Instagram’s Explore section, a personalized shopping channel.
Last year, the company introduced Checkout, a way users can transact within the app. In the future, Instagram says its shoppable IGTV videos will be made discoverable on Instagram Shop, as well while also exploring more features to add on.