Shopify Rolling Out Shoppable Instagram Feature to Thousands of Merchants

E-commerce platform Shopify is changing the game for retailers to sell on social media. TechCrunch reports Shopify is opening up its Instagram integration to thousands of its merchants leading up to the holiday season. The platform expansion adds yet another sales channel to Shopify sellers, joining Facebook, Messenger and others. The shoppable social feed has been in testing for all of 2017, however, the broader rollout will help expand Shopify's reach to a much larger group of potential retailers and customers.

Total Retail's Take: Instagram is one of the largest social media platforms, with 700 million monthly active users. In addition, with 1.5 out of every seven hashtags being a branded hashtag, its reach is ideal for retailers. Retailers making their Instagram feed shoppable gives them a platform to connect with current customers and acquire new ones in a place where they're spending a lot of time online. In addition, consumers are seemingly more likely to make impulse purchases via social media. Seems to be a win-win for Shopify's merchants.