Instagram is planning to increase its share in the eCommerce segment by expanding its shopping feature abroad. Previously available only in the US, the Facebook-owned photo and video sharing app now allows shoppable posts for businesses located in an additional eight countries.

Instagram is expanding its shopping feature to other countries such as Australia, Brazil, Canada, Italy, France, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom. The feature was first tested in November of 2016 before it was introduced to US users of the app last year.

Business Marketing Mastery: Instagram expands shoppable organic posts to 8 more countries – Launched last year, shoppable posts make it possible for brands to sell products organically on Instagram. Please visit Marketing Land for the full article. https://t.co/VdNCKYpE27

— Small Biz Marketing (@SMEMarketingbiz) March 20, 2018

Shoppable organic posts allow businesses to add eCommerce links to their social media posts. This makes it easier for brands to drive additional traffic to their eCommerce sites.

The shopping feature acts as a shop window that allows users to explore products. Tapping on a post will display the product’s price as well as a link which brings Instagram users to the product page within the platform. The post shows additional product details as well as similar products and other items being offered by the brand. If the user is interested, they can then click on the “Shop Now” button which redirects them to the actual eCommerce site of the brand.

The shopping feature’s international expansion can add more revenue to the app and increase the company’s share in the global eCommerce segment. Instagram noted an increase in eCommerce activity on the platform with more than 200 million users visiting at least one Instagram business profile daily. The feature was designed to entice users who love to shop as it noted that about half of its US-based active users follow a shopping business account.

Given the feature’s popularity among Instagram users, many online stores could see a significant boost to their bottom line by adding it to their marketing strategy. According to Lulus Vice President of Marketing Noelle Sandler, their website traffic from the platform increased by 44 percent since shoppable organic posts were introduced last year.

[Featured image via Pixabay]