March 16, 2023. Save this date. It will mark a new page in the history of Instagram. From March 16, Live Shopping will no longer exist. This is a door that certainly closes, but which also opens up several opportunities for you to seize…
Instagram follows Facebook
Since 2020, creators have been able to tag products during an Instagram live, but this will soon be a thing of the past starting March 16. On February 14, the company announced thatit would remove live shopping on Instagram, following a similar shutdown on Facebook in October 2022, after 4 years of existence.
Indeed, Facebook has wanted to focus more on Reels since the 2e semester of last year, while consumer viewing behavior is shifting more towards short video. Meta reported back then that to reach and engage users through video, it needed to experiment with Reels ads on Facebook and Instagram. In addition, it is already possible to tag products in Reels on Instagram to discover a brand in more depth. So, you might as well remove the least performance feature…
Instagram will thus follow its path: the social platform will focus on products and features that offer the most value to users.
Does this decision surprise you?
It was, however, quite predictable! Meta had always looked for ways to reduce costs in the face of a difficult economic situation and the rapid and expensive development of the metaverse. So it makes sense that the company would want to cut back on poorly performing policies and features.
Several American expert sites had also already predicted it. For Insider Intelligence, for example, social media-based purchases are only expected to represent 5% of US e-commerce in 2022. If that’s true, Meta isn’t gaining much from purchases during live streams.
However, shops on Instagram are not completely disappearing.
According to Instagram:
“You will still be able to set up and manage your store on Instagram as we continue to invest in shopping experiences for people and businesses across feeds, stories, reels, ads and more.”
And other live streaming features are not affected.
In making this move, Meta might take a step back (time will tell if that was the wise move to make), but other platforms are still working to develop new live shopping experiences.
The must-have TikTok is currently testing in-app purchases to test and showcase a live shopping feature in the US. For its part, YouTube makes it possible to sell products on the platform thanks to its partnership with Shopify. And of course, Amazon, the leader in online shopping, offers many purchasable live streams on its platform.
Now bet on ads!
Meta claims that even though it is ending live shopping, it is still investing in shopping, as 90% of users follow at least one business on the site.
Instead of pushing live trade, it will now focus on advertising as one of the main ways to discover a brand and shop on Instagram. This includes using automated tools: Shop Ads and Shopping Advantage+ campaigns to improve ad performance.
The company will also continue to invest in payment, where people can buy a product with just a few clicks from Instagram and Facebook Stories, Feed or Reels.
#00Live #Shopping #Instagram
