Instagram is believed to be taking the plunge into e-commerce segment at last what with reports claiming the company is into developing a shopping app of its own. Set to be named IG Shopping, the new app will let users to make their purchases right from within Instagram.
The Facebook-owned company, in any case, has always been a platform where businesses sought to showcase their stuff for the prospective buyers to see. However, the social site so far enabled the retailers to carry links that would lead to the product sale page. All of that is set for a change once a dedicated shopping app comes into the picture. That apart, there is also going to be the facility to shop from Stories as well.
There is no word yet though as to when the app will launch. It is said to be still in the development phase and might even be cancelled altogether if things do not prove to be feasible enough. However, the chances of the said shopping app cutting is high considering that Instagram hosts millions of businesses already. Further, the site is frequented by 800 million users every month, with 4 out of every 5 users already following some form of a business or the other.
Interestingly, the lack of proper facility for Instagrammers to shop on the site had led to the development of a host of companies that make shopping off the social site possible. Those include Like2Buy, LikeToKnow.It and Shopify. Needless to say, the future of these company hangs in a limbo and might even lead to their demise if the IG Shopping app indeed becomes a reality.
That is not all as Facebook is also being speculated to introduce business specific tools that will let them sell their wares more efficiently. If that be the case than established e-commerce players like Shopify too might begin to feel the pinch.
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Instagram, however, has refused to offer any comment on the developments so far, which will keep the suspense going on this.
