You can now shop on Instagram in the UK. Here's how

Smartphones have changed how we shop, and Instagram, who recorded 800 million monthly users in September 2017, has changed the way we interact with brands, and discover new products.

But until now, brands have really struggled to bridge the gap between Instagram engagement and purchase because Instagram does not allow URLs to be included in captions.

Instagrammers have had to tag specific brands in their posts, link to products in their bio, or use third-party services such as Like2B.uy and LikeToKnow.It in order to make their posts shoppable.

That’s all set to change this week, as UK users of the Facebook-owned photo and video app (plus those in France, Italy, Germany, Australia, Brazil, Canada and Spain) are now able to shop directly from organic Instagram posts.

The technology, which debuted in the USA back in November 2016, allows brands and influencers to make an organic post shoppable by tagging a product (with a maximum of five per post) in the same way they would tag a person in a photo.

When a user taps a Shopping for Instagram post, it displays pop-ups with prices and a link to a new page within the app that has more information and a “Shop Now” button directing users to the product page on the brand’s own online store.

UK users will now be able to shop directly from 20 retailers using the new feature, including J.Crew, Marks & Spencer, Kate Spade, Heidi Klein, mahabis and Topshop. and Warby Parker.

Click through the gallery below to see a step-by-step of what happens when you click on a shopping post.

High street giant Marks & Spencer was one of the first three businesses (alongside Heidi Klein and Mahabis) to take part in the UK test phase of the function.

“Instagram has always been a great platform through which to showcase our products and engage with customers,” M&S head of digital marketing Erin Roy told Retail Gazette. “Shoppable posts take this to a whole new level. They are simple to create, easy for our customers to use and enhance the Instagram experience.”

The tool will also be a huge help for UK small businesses, 37% of whom say they built their business using Instagram.

For now, the functionality is fairly simple, building on what platforms such as LikeToKnow.It have already been doing to direct potential shoppers to items via a landing page. It is however a step in the right direction to creating a seamless shopping experience on the platform.

"People come to Instagram every day to discover and buy products from their favourite businesses,” said Jim Squires, Head of Business, Instagram. “We want that to be a seamless experience. Whether it’s a local artisan, florist or clothing store, shopping directly on Instagram has never been easier.”

Note to readers: if you're looking at one of the brands using the technology on Instagram (e.g. Topshop) and not seeing the tags pop up, you may need to install the latest version of the Instagram app.