In perhaps one of the most exciting updates this year, Instagram has announced it will soon be displaying shoppable photo tags on product images. So how will the development impact brands and users alike?

Tags are fairly discreet, and appear in the same way that individual users can currently be tagged in photos. The viewer simply has to tap on the tag in order to see a product description, then tap again to purchase via the brand’s site. Product pages also load directly inside the Instagram app itself, meaning transactions don’t have to be made in the user’s external browser. We also like the fact that these tags still ensure a seamless shopping experience for users- they don’t come across as being “over-promotional” like sponsored posts and ads seen in Facebook and Twitter, or like these platforms’ original plans to add more obtrusive looking “Buy” buttons. Furthermore, the original look and feel of each product shot is still preserved- written details are not immediately visible, meaning ad content isn’t jarring in the user’s feed or Explore page. It’s clear that this update was the next phase for Instagram- a company study revealed that 60% of users have benefitted from learning about products and services on the app, and 75% have taken action as a result, from heading to a brand’s external site, searching for further information, or notifying their friends after consuming content there.

While benefitting users, Instagram’s update is also a revolution for brands using the platform, who can now get rid of the awkward “view link in profile” line when drawing attention to their products. We always thought that Instagram might go down the route of enabling clickable links, but it has clearly bypassed this step in favour of tags, creating a much more cohesive experience where users can quickly see product descriptions and check out options. At this stage, the app’s test partners are the likes of Kate Spade, Michael Kors and Shopbop, showing fashion brands are perhaps the most favoured by Instagram’s user base. If brands decide they want to reach users who don’t already follow them though, this is where Instagram’s plans for monetisation comes in. The company’s VP of monetisation, James Quarles, stated that it would be charging brands to show shoppable content to users beyond their follower base, functioning as another form of product advertising. Added to this, we see brands including shoppable tags in their existing ad content, enabling a further helpful dimension for potential purchasers.

We also see brand ambassadors and influencers using these tags in order to alert followers to specific products they’re advertising, as opposed to simply the brand account. As is common among top Instagram bloggers, their posts often contain brand tags revealing which items are displayed in the image, something already unique to the platform. Likely because of this, engagement rates on Instagram are 58 times that of Facebook, and 120 times that of Twitter. We only imagine this figure soaring thanks to the update, and we also predict an even greater amount of collaborations occurring between brands and influencers as a result.

Will you be using Instagram for browsing and purchasing via mobile? Do you think the update will attract a greater number of brands to the platform? We’d love to hear your thoughts, so please tweet to us @PracticeDigital and share your comments on our Facebook page.