
Shopping coming to Instagram - keyle
http://blog.business.instagram.com/post/152598788716/shopping-coming-to-instagram
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manachar
This seems like a natural way to monetize instagram for accounts that I
follow. I would take this over ads any day. If I like a business enough to
follow them on instagram, then I won't mind being able to purchase something
from the account.

For instance, I follow King Arthur Flour for their scrumptious baking recipes.
It'd be great to be able to go straight to their online store to purchase some
of their harder to find ingredients like Boiled Cider.

One thing I hope they do is make it so everybody can get in on it. Say you
want to be able to sell prints of your great photos, how awesome would it be
to have a built in way for customers to do so? Or have a brewery and want to
sell some t-shirts?

That said... will this taint the instagram experience? Youtube feels
increasingly optimized for profit-making and seems be crowding out some of the
more "just-for-fun" type projects. If too much of a social media site focus on
profit it becomes just another mall and less of a social setting.

~~~
jfoutz
vaguely related, "When a measure becomes a target, it ceases to be a good
measure" [1] There's probably some similar folk wisdom like, adding
advertising to an interesting thing makes the thing less interesting.

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodhart%27s_law](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goodhart%27s_law)

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oomkiller
This is anything but seamless. As soon as I saw them slide out that webview
with the vendor's site I nearly vomited. They had a chance to make buying
items that users like so much more painless, but they only delivered a partial
experience. I don't want to bother with creating an account for every random
vendor, typing in my CC info, and then having to rummage through emails to get
tracking info. This is a great idea, but the execution leaves a lot to be
desired.

~~~
RickS
The situation you describe would require building and maintaining what's
basically an etsy competitor. That's a hugely more complex undertaking
compared to "here's a buy button that links to a URL".

As much as I'd love IG's UX to become the baseline level of ecommerce quality,
I can see why they went the route they did.

~~~
dwightgunning
Regardless of complexity, if the opportunity is there then they ought have
gone after it. Perhaps, though unlikely, they just didn't see it.

Alternatively it could be seen as a sign that IG are becoming complacent. A
competitor may just swoop in, out-execute, and take the chocolates.

~~~
majani
On the contrary, it could be a quick initial test with a plan to flesh it out
if the response is good.

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solatic
I get that this is a pilot program of sorts, but it seems rather... limited.

Why not extend this to every account? Whenever an Instagram user posts a
picture which hosts a product, they can decide in that post to create a link
to that product. Followers can then buy the product through Instagram, knowing
that they are getting a genuine product (unlike, say, if they were going to
buy through Amazon). Manufacturers are incentivized to list products through
Instagram to drive sales. Users are incentivized to link to the products in
their posts because it makes them eligible for some small percent of sales
driven through that post. Instagram takes a cut for making the sale happen on
their platform. Everyone wins.

~~~
rtpg
Maybe misreading, but a lot of major Instagram publishers exist through
product sponsorship.

Letting publishers have control of this sort of linking increases the value of
the sponsorship, thus helping out content creators. Like how YouTube's ad-
revenue sharing supports people making videos.

I would see this more as a way for content creators to monetize better than
for Instagram to monetize.

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alphonsegaston
I really hope Instagram or the merchants go with Apple/Android pay
integration. I've gone through the hoops of image->link to shop in the
profile->search for the item, only to bow out when faced with the
tedium/inevitable spam of creating an account on the merchant's site.

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yolesaber
This explains why they blocked hyperlinking outbound URLs except for the
'bio', which I always thought was weird but in retrospect makes sense.
Instagram has a lot of activity but it's mostly confined to Instagram as
opposed to the dispersing effects of reading e.g. Twitter. Snapchat has a
similar internal lock-in principle.

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realschnabler
This is one of the rare instances, where a monetization strategy actually
improves the UX of a vanity product. Users have been asking for this
(passively) for years. If you check out popular fashion posts, you can find a
lot of comments along the lines of "where can i buy this?", "i need this.",
etc. Instagram was always great at creating attention and desire for products,
but the platform never allowed users to take action directly.

Trying to solve this problem myself back in 2013 with a somewhat popular
iPhone app, the key will be to rollout this feature to smaller merchants, or
maybe even to "fashion inspiration" accounts who provide a massive
followership, as well as massive engagement on their posts - but I don't
really see that happening.

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famousactress
It's pretty nuts to me how many people already use Instagram as a business
platform, literally for sales. I have a couple of friends for instance who own
a vintage clothing/furnishings store and do MOST of their business posting
items on Instagram, getting DM'd from people wanting to purchase, and then
handling payments and pick up or delivery off of the platform. They're only
one case of many I've noticed from folks who'd otherwise be on Etsy (or are
also on Etsy, but have an easier time curating customers on Instagram and
avoid the high fees).

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throwaway98237
Imagine that landline phone calls were initially free and had to be
"monitized" via adverts. Or, if it ended up being the case that they couldn't
be sufficiently monitized and thus were considered a "failed business model".
This age of freemium is producing all sorts of wack products. Why can't I just
have a phone company that adds Twitter-like functionality in my paid plan. Oh
right, because even though it's all "free" it's all proprietary and
incompatible.

~~~
pjc50
I'm sure the phone company could have built twitter, but it would have cost
you $0.1 per tweet and $1 for pictures. The phone companies built quite a lot
of innovative stuff early on (e.g Minitel), but it was _even more_
proprietary, incompatible, and monopoly priced.

~~~
throwaway98237
And regulated by the government, so that everyone received service, that was
inter-operable, and sustained.

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phmagic
Perhaps an Instagram team member can answer for me:

Is there a way for Instagram creators, stylists and influencers to make money
by recommending products or styles?

My use case: I buy clothes based on "looks / styles" and camera products based
unique experiences created by other people. I'd like to pay influencers for
creating such awesome content that help me discover new products.

~~~
prawn
Yes, they get given products and are paid to feature products in their images.
To tip them, keep following, liking and maybe refer them more followers via
word of mouth, etc.

Source: Got a friend whose full-time gig is posting on Instagram.

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eganist
See, I think it would be cool if _I_ could do it without flipping my account
to a business account, but at the same time, then I'd think Instagram runs the
risk of empowering everyone the ability to assign monetary values to things
quite inappropriately, at least from a cultural standpoint.

On the one hand, I like the idea of being able to pawn off a cool gadget I
found.

On the other hand, I don't like the idea of seeing pricetags all over people's
profiles, or worse, seeing people sell mementos or sentimental items on a
social media platform so very in-my-face just to turn a quick buck.

The latter strongly outweighs the former for me, so I suppose I'm glad this
appears to be limited to business accounts.

~~~
rangibaby
> On the other hand, I don't like the idea of seeing pricetags all over
> people's profiles, or worse, seeing people sell mementos or sentimental
> items on a social media platform so very in-my-face just to turn a quick
> buck.

People do that all the time already, I must get at least one follow from
someone trying to sell me supplements (steroids?) every day

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cyborgx7
Wow, blocking ads (which are inherently unethical) doesn't kill every company
on the internet but forces them to come up with better and more inovative
business ideas. Who'd have thought?

~~~
afarrell
> which are inherently unethical

What is the argument here?

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cyborgx7
The usual arguments against advertising on the internet are about privacy,
security and intrusiveness. These are all valid but even if none of those
things were true, ads are still inherently manipulative. I consider
manipulation to be unethical.

~~~
toomanybeersies
Everyone and everything is manipulative. Life is all about perception.

Packaging is designed to make you want to buy one thing more than another.
Would as many people buy Red Bull if it was in a standard stubby can instead
of the slimline can? No they wouldn't. Is it therefore unethical for Red Bull
to sell their beverage in a slimline can?

Is it unethical for a salesperson to talk to you? For a shop to have a sign?
For me to suggest eating a kebab for lunch? What if when I finish talking to
you I tell you to have a nice day?

~~~
RodericDay
I object to advertising in principle. It causes people to become more
consumerist. It exists to generate a desire to purchase stuff, usually by
promoting feelings that one is missing out otherwise.

Plenty of people try to sell the idea that ads let us have content "for free",
and that all we have to tolerate is "a little annoyance". There's even bigger
reasons to oppose them than mere convenience, though.

For one, it messes with buyer's rationale, the greatest aspect of markets, so
that you cannot be sure that a product winning in the marketplace is doing so
out of quality or out of better advertising. The possibility to make up for
deficiencies in quality with proper advertisement encourages a company to
spend money into selling product instead of improving product.

And if one person is impervious to advertising and getting some content "for
free", that still means that some other poor sap who is less educated, more
vulnerable to advertising, is buying enough extra to make up for the content
the first got for free. An exploitative arrangement to be sure. It's basically
simulated peer-pressure.

It exists on a spectrum with free speech, but all your examples have an easy
answer: It's unethical for you to suggest someone have kebab for lunch if you
are getting paid for it and not disclosing it.

~~~
CamelCaseName
While I respect your line of thinking, I believe that advertising does improve
a product substantially. It improves how you are perceived using it, it can
change your experience with the product, and it can reduce the amount of time
you need and give you better information about products -- especially when
there are no obvious benchmarks for the industry. (E.g. clothing)

Part of advertising is educating customers on what features your product has,
and doing so in an easy to understand way.

Imagine a world with no advertising. You want to buy a coat, so you search
Google. There are no ads, so you just click the first link (which has done no
SEO). What do you see? A picture of a coat? A list of coat 'specs'? A
description of the coat?

All of these could be considered advertising (People "wasting" money on
putting coats on models of different body sizes, creating different standards
for clothing 'specs', and copywriting product descriptions) yet they also
provide value to the customer.

So I would say that advertising has to be considered part of the product that
can enhance its value.

~~~
cyborgx7

      Imagine a world with no advertising.
    

I do so regularly. You wouldn't have to rely on what you saw on a billboard or
a website, where the products by the company that payed the most are
displayed. Instead you would consult an independant source dedicated to
comparing the type of products you are looking for. Or you'd ask friends what
they would recommend. You know, sources with the priority of actually pointing
you at the best solution, not getting you to give them money over someone
else.

With ad blockers having made a lot of people conscious about ads and their
ethics, I feel like we are closer to an ad free world than ever. Personally, I
can't wait.

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kylehotchkiss
I applaud this. I follow lots of #brands of cool hip outdoorsy stuff on
Instagram and wish merch sites in general would do a better job showing their
products in use so I am not left guessing how they fit and look in the wild.
And if this means no more tower heist ads in my instagram, sign me up now!

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dharma1
Good source of revenue for them. UI/UX reminds me of
[https://www.thinglink.com/](https://www.thinglink.com/). Would be nice if it
was open to everyone (anyone selling, cross-platform, worldwide).

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milge
Hopefully this works out. I've been doing some metal fabrication lately and
have thought about doing commission work in the future. I see other makers on
IG selling stuff, but the experience leaves a lot to be desired.

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timehastoldme
Hey HN! I want to hear the arguments as to why this is or isn't a positive
development for society. Not whether or not it's the right business decision,
or whether or not they should have the right to do it.

Any thoughts?

~~~
zaaakk
you take the red pill, you read Marx, Althusser, and Adorno and your eyes are
forever opened. you take the blue pill, you agree with the posts up voted
above mine and go back to sleep. your choice, kid

~~~
BipolarElsa
You forgot Stirner.

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dawson
There are a number of startups offering 'shoppable instagram' solutions, some
quite large, and one recently acquired; though I suppose they knew it was
coming. RIP, or pivot I guess.

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pmyjavec
It's a good idea as it's pretty much a shopping mall for yoga wear, protein
powder and leotards now.

Interesting how it evolved from a social media site to an online shopping
mall!

~~~
tdkl
The main difference compared to Facebook for example is, that you don't see
that if you don't want to. There are no "live tickers" in your face of what
people you follow are doing. Well at least for now.

Curation is the key.

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gjmulhol
I think the name Instacart is already taken.

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dfar1
Long live fake accounts pretending to be your friend.

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pmlnr
offtopic: I still find it fascinating (hilarious, even) that the official
instagram blogs are tumblrs.

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alttab
Yawn.

