By Calli Gregg R emember when social media was just something you used to keep you connected with old high school and university friends and let them and your family know what you have been up to or to share some pictures from a recent vacation? Now social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and Pinterest are much more than this now and have evolved to an e-commerce marketplace to promote products and allow users to buy them directly from within the platforms. Instagram recently announced a shopping channel under it’s explore tab, personalized to the user. In June, Instagram started a test to expand its shopping in stories feature. It did not take long for Snapchat to respond announcing a partnership with Amazon that allows users to point the Snapchat camera at a physical product or barcode to get a link for that product or similar ones available on Amazon. More or less, reaching into your pocket to help you spend your hard-earned money.
While Instagram and Snapchat are new to the into the game, Pinterest has offered the “Buy It” and “Shop the Look” features to its users for years now, but they will have some stiff competition now. This is great news for small and medium size business- es that use Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest to promote and sell their products. Most businesses welcome any technologies that will let users buy products directly through one of their social media accounts as it increased brand exposure and purchase opportunities. New social media innovation and technologies are creating a more convenient, one-stop shopping platform for shoppers who favor online purchasing. However, there are some concerns regarding protecting the privacy of these users as these online tools that were originally intended as a tool to connect with friends, become a growing database of consumer information that can be used to influence shopping by users on social media platform.
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • OCTOBER 2018
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