Since 55% of Millennials rely on social media as their primary source for shopping information; these platforms are always looking to enhance the consumer’s shopping experience, which means continuous updates and site improvements. With social media shopping growing in popularity, Instagram and Pinterest have recently taken steps to improve how customers shop on their sites.
Instagram is making it easier for shoppers to buy products directly from their platform by introducing the ability to add tags to pictures. This will allow retailers to convey additional information such as price and available colors to the consumer, enticing them to make an immediate purchase decision. More information will be available to shoppers through the “tap to view” icon. Once tapped, it will pull up tags on the products featured in the photo and from there shoppers can tap the tag to get more details, and then click the “shop now” button to purchase. Currently, Instagram has only rolled this service out to 20 retailers for a trial run. Once Instagram’s updates are available to the masses you can easily cross-promote several products in one picture; your students can then pick and buy which products work best for them.
Pinterest has also rolled out a new way retailers can drive sales on its platform with a revamped business page. This update allows retailers to showcase up to five boards at the top of their Pinterest profile. Along with this, buyable pins can now be highlighted in a new Shop slot that allows a consumer to make an easy purchase on the Pinterest profile. These boards can be updated at any time, allowing retailers to showcase popular products or what’s in season for them. Consider using these features to promote products based on your students’ needs at various times of the year. Through the Pinterest showcase boards, you can highlight exactly what they need to buy in order to gear up for next semester or emphasize dorm essentials for the new school year. The Wisconsin University Bookstore has done a great job utilizing these new features on their Pinterest profile, take a look at their business page to get inspiration for your own! Pinterest.com/uwbookstore/
This is only the beginning for social media shopping as the demand for a personalized shopping experience increases with consumers. Keep these changes in mind as a way to boost your online presence and simplify your student’s shopping.
Sources: latimes.com, internetretailer.com
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