Instagram Just Made It A Lot Easier To Shop On The App

Instagram has launched an online shopping feature that will allow users to easily buy products directly from the social media platform. In short: users will be able to shop with a single tap on their phone.

The feature, which launched on March 19 in the US, allows users to buy products from 20 different brands – including Burberry, Dior and Prada, as well as beauty brands KKW Beauty and NARS. The platform plans to roll out the new feature in “the coming months” as it attracts more brands to get on board. With the new checkout feature, shoppers will be able to select and pay for an item, all in one smooth process. “People no longer have to navigate to the browser when they want to buy,” the company said in a statement. “And with their protected payment information in one place, they can shop their favourite brands without needing to log in and enter their information multiple times.”

By keeping a note of individuals'payment details – shoppers can use Visa, Mastercard, American Express, PayPal and Discover – on profiles, people no longer need to navigate away from the app to make a purchase on a brand’s website. All brands will be charged a “selling fee” when a sale is made on the platform.

In recent months the platform has allowed brands to add tags to posts, making it easier for users to find out more information about certain products. More than 130 million users a month have been tapping on posts to look at the products – a considerable increase from 90 million last year. It looks like shopping on Instagram is a welcome addition.