Instagram Checkout: US shoppers can now buy products directly through the app

Instagram took its next step to becoming a fully-fledged commerce business on Tuesday, as it announced that its US users will now be able to shop product from some of their favourite brands without ever leaving the app.

The new ‘Checkout’ functionality lets users store their payment information with Instagram to make purchases more quickly.

Back in March 2018, Instagram added product tags to posts in a feed and in June 2018, the platform also added shopping icons (or ‘stickers’) to Stories. While they currently have 130 million Instagrammers tapping to reveal product tags each month, users still have to navigate a browser pop-up if they want to buy, a clunky experience which presumably causes many to give up in frustration.

Checkout, which is currently in beta testing with a select 20 retailers in the US, lets you shop product without leaving the Instagram app. Plus, by having their protected payment information in one place, users can shop their favourite brands without needing to log in and enter their information multiple times. Shoppers will be able to pay with Visa, Mastercard, Discover and PayPal, Instagram said.

In return, Instagram is charging retailers an (as yet undisclosed) selling fee. So far Nike, Adidas, Dior, H&M, MAC Cosmetics, Michael Kors, Oscar de la Renta, Prada, Uniqlo, Warby Parker, and Zara are on board.

While the functionality is currently only available in America (to Instagram users with accounts registered to US phone numbers), it seems incredibly likely that Instagram’s European audience will be the next target.

“We want to build on the experience and get it right during the beta before expanding it widely,” an Instagram spokesperson told the Standard. “We don't have a specific timeline to share but hope to expand checkout beyond the US in the future.”

“Since our earliest days, people on Instagram have loved to shop. They revel in the joy of discovering those perfect suede boots, obsessing over beauty tutorials or snatching up one-of-a-kind sneakers from an exclusive drop. Instagram is a place for people to treat themselves with inspiration, not a place to tax themselves with errands. It's a place to experience the pleasure of shopping versus the chore of buying. We build everything with this in mind,” said the social media giant in a blog post.

Burberry, which has embraced exclusive drops to build hype, will be one of more than 20 leading brands that users can buy from within the app. “Burberry is always pushing for digital innovation that improves our customers’ experience. We have seen great results from the monthly B Series product drops which launched last September, bridging the journey from inspiration to ecommerce for our social community for the first time,” said Rachel Waller, the British fashion label’s VP of Digital Marketing. “We are excited to expand our social commerce as one of the first brands to adopt checkout on Instagram.”