Ottawa-based Shopify may soon have a new competitor in the e-commerce field as Instagram reportedly preps a shopping app.
According to a report by The Verge, the Facebook-owned social network’s shopping app may be called IG Shopping.
The app may let users browse products from merchants they follow on the platform. Additionally, users can purchase goods within the app.
Considering Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg said more than 25 million businesses have Instagram accounts and 2 million are advertisers, Instagram looks well positioned for an expansion in e-commerce.
This could be bad news for companies like Shopify. The Canadian company provides online tools for businesses to build online storefronts. However, Shopify only has 600,000 active stores, a small number next to Instagram’s 25 million businesses.
That number may shrink with the release of IG Shopping. For many of those businesses, it would make more sense to run their online store through Instagram — they likely already have an account.
Furthermore, Instagram could also integrate a shopping platform into its recent IGTV app. IGTV could serve ads for companies that sell through the platform. Alternatively, we could see a rebirth of the Shopping Channel for IGTV.
Instagram has already integrated shopping into other parts of its app. The company already has a feature that lets users shop from Stories.
Soon, Instagram could allow users to interact with and shop all manner of brands.
Source: The Verge
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