Instagram will stop live shopping in March and put more attention on ads instead

Meta said that it is getting rid of Instagram’s livestream shopping business because Facebook did something similar. Users won’t be able to tag products while live streaming on Instagram.

Fast Facts:

Instagram users will no longer be able to tag products while live-streaming after March 16, 2023. Instagram is getting rid of its Shopping feature, which was popular in Asian markets.

Since 2020, many U.S. businesses and creators could use it.

This social media platform made this decision because livestream shopping didn’t do well in the U.S. market as a whole. But live shopping is common in Asian markets like China, where apps like WeChat, Taobao Live, and Douyin (China’s TikTok) have made it a popular and profitable thing to do.

Because of the pandemic, many businesses in the US wanted to start live shopping to boost sales:

Experts started calling live shopping the “future of e-commerce”. They pointed to the early success of companies like TalkShopLive, NTWRK, Brandlive, Whatnot, and others as proof.

Users could also shop live on Meta, Amazon, and YouTube, which are all big names in the tech world. Even though e-commerce sales went through the roof during the pandemic, they only made up 5% of all e-commerce sales in the U.S. last year.

Then, TikTok changed its plans for live commerce in the U.S. and Europe. It was because many tests of live streaming didn’t bring in any sales.

Meta shuts down live shopping but put money into similar things:

Meta is still interested in shopping, even though it ended live shopping. The reason is 90% of the site’s users follow at least one business. Instead of focusing on live business, it will focus on advertising to help people find more ways to shop.

A lot of attention will be paid to automated tools like Shop ads and Advantage+ shopping campaigns. The company will keep putting money into checkout. It conclusively lets people buy something from Instagram Stories, Facebook Feeds, or Facebook Reels.

Instagram gets rid of the “Shop” button:

Last month, Instagram completely got rid of the Shop tab and moved Reels to the side. The decision comes after the platform got a lot of negative feedback for how hard it pushed Reels.

Instagram’s head, Adam Mosseri, said that the company had put too much emphasis on Reels. It would try to find a better balance between showing photos and videos. The app will continue to host live Q&As, invite guests, and work with businesses. After live shopping is taken away, they will still run and set up shop on this social media platform.

 

Why did Instagram make live shopping available?

The live shopping feature of Instagram came out in 2020 so that businesses could show off their products and make it easy for customers to buy them. The feature has changed, and now Instagram users can buy things right from posts, and stories, and even explore pages.

Before buying a product, users can check its price, read a description of it, and see a picture of it. Small businesses found that Instagram was a useful tool. They could sell their goods without having a storefront or website.

The shopping feature on this social media platform has made it easier for people to buy things. Instagram doesn’t have to send them somewhere else, and many people who just look around end up buying something.

The best part is that users can look at a business’s products, and read about them. Consequently, they buy them without going to the store or closing the app.

What are the benefits of live shopping on Instagram?

Live shopping on Instagram is very helpful for businesses because it helps them reach more people. Through hashtags, companies find a way to get more attention and show up in Searches so that users can find them.

With the Shopping feature, businesses can also show off their products visually, which can help them get more customers. One more benefit of this social media platform shopping is that you can track analytics.

Business accounts can look at insights like how many times their products were clicked on, how many people saved their ads, and how many people bought their products. These help a brand figure out how to make its content better and learn more about its audience.

Meta is looking for ways to cut costs and put more attention on the most important parts of its apps and websites.

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