For those clinging to the radiators and blankets due to the latest cold snap, Instagram has just announced some exciting news which means you have even more reason to stay snug.

Instagram have rolled out their Instagram Shopping feature in the UK - at long last.

After a successful in-depth trial in America you can now find its shopping options here in the UK as well as in Brazil, Canada, Italy, France and Spain.

What is Instagram Shopping?

Instagram shopping is Instagram’s newest shopping feature. It aims to make it really easy for brands to showcase their products on Instagram and for Instagram users/shoppers to spot what they want and buy.

You may be thinking that you have seen this on Instagram before - whilst there are third party services which link Instagram posts to online shops this latest update is different and aims to address the limitations of the current third party integrations.

The main difference with this latest update is that users are able to shop directly within Instagram with virtual price tags overlaid on the posts.

This helps online shops as they can have multiple virtual tags on each Instagram post, reducing the need for product specific images and allowing them to focus on aspirational lifestyle images – much more ‘likable’ on Instagram.

At the moment the Instagram user/shopper still needs to click on the virtual price tag to buy the product on the ecommerce shop in question. Transactions cannot (yet) be made within the Instagram app.

What this will mean for my Ecommerce Store?

For ecommerce stores its great news – the Instagram shopping app has given you a new direct channel of directing customers and potential customers to your product pages.

If you are not already using Instagram, then now might be the time to review your social media usage and integrate the channel with your online marketing strategies.

Naturally great product images will be a must have so investing in photo shoots of your products– however small and informal they are – should be part of your marketing efforts and resources.

Published: 21st Mar 2018

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