Instagram has been one of many sites that vendors use to sell their products, and although they can still do it, it will no longer be in the platform's live selling feature. Tagging products in livestreams will no longer be available starting in March.
Discontinuing Live Shopping
As a way to focus on products that provide the most value to its users, Instagram is removing it feature that lets vendors tag products in livestreams. The change will go into effect on March 16th. The shopping tab on Instagram will also be removed soon within the month.
Meta stepping away from the live shopping scene, as mentioned in The Verge. Of course, vendors can still set up their shops and sell through Instagram's feeds, stories, Reels, ads, and more. Live broadcasts including features like scheduling and inviting guests are unaffected.
The live shopping feature is but a small shift in the selling business within the platform. Users can create customizable storefronts so other users can shop directly on their profiles. Vendors can also use shopping tags for purchases in-app or as a direction to other websites.
There's also Shop in Explore, where users can browse tagged shoppable content from both brands and creators. Vendors can create Collections wherein a set of products can be curated to help customers find similar items, according to Instagram.
Other tools are available like Ads with Product Tags, where businesses can boost their product posts through paid ads through the Ad Manager, increasing the reach of the content for more link clicks and post engagement.
Live Shopping on Other Platforms
Meta may be stepping back, but other platforms are putting in the effort to expand to live shopping. TikTok for instance plans to make the feature available in the US. The live streams will be hosted by influencers and retailers as they sell the products within the app.
Live shopping has seen success in several countries in Asia like Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, the Philippines, and Indonesia, as mentioned by Financial Times. However, it has had difficulties in the markets in the UK.
Then again, it might take a while for it to be launched or if it's even going to be considered. TikTok has been closely watched by US officials due to its issues with handling the private data of its users, and the idea that it is being accessed in Beijing.
YouTube plans to do the same thing as well. The company will partner with Shopify, which is an e-commerce platform, to launch livestream shopping. Users will also be able to buy products directly in-app through creator-hosted streams.
However, the shopping feature is only accessible to those who have a monetized channel, as well as those who are in countries where the YouTube Partner Program is operational. Creators can connect their Shopify stores to their YouTube profiles.
Through linking the accounts, the vendors could enable onsite checkout as well as sync their inventory in Shopify, according to NBC News. That way, customers won't have to shift from app to app in order to make a purchase.
