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Shopping on Instagram feature launches in eight more countries

By Alan Friedman

Published: Mar 20, 2018, 11:13 AM

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Instagram users in eight more countries can shop on the app starting today

It's always about the money. No matter what some young kid who dropped out of college says when he launches his new app, the goal is monetization. After all, it is what makes the world go round. And when Facebook purchased Instagram for $1 billion back in 2012, the big question was how would Facebook turn a profit on the acquisition? Courting advertisers was one solution, and offering subscribers a way to purchase merchandise directly from the app was another revenue producing idea.

Instagram started testing this shopping feature back in 2016. Products are tagged in photos posted on the app, and interested subscribers who tap on the image of an item can purchase it right from the app without having to open the browser. Last year, shopping on Instagram became available to state-side subscribers, and today the program has been rolled out to eight more countries including the U.K., Canada, Brazil, Australia, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.

Commerce platform Shopify, which provides its 500,000 merchants with access to Instagram users through a deal with the latter, is one of the companies that will benefit from the expansion of the program. Instagram has 800 million monthly users at last count.

"Shoppers around the world increasingly demand unique experiences that shorten the path to purchase, and the future of commerce will need to meet and exceed these evolving demands. We continue to partner and experiment with leading social platforms to support our merchants in reaching their customers wherever they are. The expanded collaboration with Instagram is indicative of our commitment to support our merchants in growing their business and reaching more customers globally."-Satish Kanwar, Vice President, Product, Shopify

source: Shopify

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Alan, an ardent smartphone enthusiast and a veteran writer at PhoneArena since 2009, has witnessed and chronicled the transformative years of mobile technology. Owning iconic phones from the original iPhone to the iPhone 15 Pro Max, he has seen smartphones evolve into a global phenomenon. Beyond smartphones, Alan has covered the emergence of tablets, smartwatches, and smart speakers.

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Shopping on Instagram feature launches in eight more countries

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