Instagram and Pinterest are currently responding to the growing demand from global fashion consumers. On these social media channels, e-commerce businesses can boost their online sales, selling more clothing, footwear and accessories directly on the platforms.

Data shows that during the first months of 2021, worldwide users spent an average of 155 minutes daily on their mobile devices against an average of 37 minutes on desktop. Additional data reveals the average daily social media usage worldwide amounted to 145 minutes in 2020.

According to Statista, in 2019, one-third of all online shopping was done through mobile devices in the UK. More data forecast that mobile commerce in retailing will drive sales values to over 100 billion GBP mark by 2024.

This shows that online users are likely to come across advertisements, posts and social media profiles that sell and promote fashion garments and end up purchasing. Social media sites such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest have introduced buttons that allow shoppers to buy products without leaving the platform.

While social media app usage continues to grow, it will be an important contributor to sales growth, especially with Millennials and Gen Zers holding major spending power.

Sell more clothes, shoes and accessories with product feed optimisation

Shopping for fashion on Instagram

Instagram has been popularly known for its unique focus on lifestyle photography. The social media platform has rapidly grown to become an advertising space for businesses, entrepreneurs, and content creators, who regularly feed curious users on the app with new fashion inspirations.

With at least 800M monthly active users and 500M daily active users, the platform represents a powerful advertising space for e-commerce businesses.

Instagram shopping is a combination of features that enable people to shop items from photos and videos posted on the app right at the moment of discovery.

Instagram believes that “70% of shopping enthusiasts turn to Instagram for product discovery” while “87% of people say that influencers have inspired them to make a purchase”. Users go to the social media platform to discover the newest fashion trends and find inspiration. When users find something that inspires them, they tend to take steps straight away, directly on the app, using their mobile device.

Ecommerce businesses that sell online through Instagram Shopping can boost their online sales, thanks to the unique features offered on the platform. These are mainly:  

•      Shops -  People can shop directly from business profile pages
•     Product Tags - Businesses can use product tags to highlight products from their online catalogue so that people can learn more about each product. Businesses that use Instagram Checkout can also highlight products in post captions and their bio with product mentions.
•      Instagram Shop Feed - Users can discover brands and products directly from the app’s shopping feed
•      Collections - brands and sellers can curate their individual shops and feeds with editorial themes to best describe their brand
•      Product detail page - Sellers can add all relevant information for items, such as pricing, product descriptions and media.
•      Instagram Checkout - Available for US businesses and sellers, this feature enables people to purchase products using Facebook Pay directly on Instagram without leaving the app
•      Shopping from content creators - Users can shop outfits, shoes and accessories they’ve seen advertised by content creators on the app.
•      Product launches - Businesses can announce the launch of new products, allowing people to preview details or set reminders for release dates
•      Live shopping - Some business accounts are given the option to sell products via Instagram Live

Big fashion labels are embracing the opportunity for growth offered by Instagram Shopping. While physical stores remained closed during the first quarter of 2021, big names in the retail sector like Primark and Matalan committed to keeping customers interested and engaged by sharing lifestyle photos of the latest stock on their Instagram accounts, inspiring shoppers online while stores remained closed during lockdown.

Actions for retailers to sell more online: Read the knowledge post

 Shopping for fashion on Pinterest

Pinterest is another social media platform that has grown to be well-positioned in the advertising sector. In the first quarter of 2020, the platform reported a growth of 145% year over year, to $123 million of its international revenue, while the total US revenue went up 67% year over year, to $582 million.

This important growth was determined by the increasing number of active users. Pinterest reported 98 million U.S. monthly active users, an increase of 11% year over year, and 361 million international users up 46%.

The numbers confirm it. The platform has become one of the strongest channels impacting the changes to the new shopping era. Pinterest is now a go-to space for businesses who wish to advertise their products or increase their consumer reach and creators who wish to inspire users and shoppers at the early stages of their online purchase journey after finding inspiration online.

More and more people are using Pinterest for shopping and to find inspiration, thanks to the beautiful and attractive visuals, that make it easy for users to match these to their unique tastes. 

The platform is continually developing and improving the user experience, so that once you find something you like, you can make a purchase directly, by simply clicking through the visual or Pin, which normally includes a direct link to buy the product from the retailer’s website. Shopping on the platform is easy for customers and can be summarized in 3 easy steps:

1.     Start by logging into your Pinterest account

2.     Then, in the search bar at the top of your home feed, enter a product you're looking for. For example, women’s mini dress, heeled sandals or summer outfits. You’ll see Shopping ideas that you can explore by clicking on the images to find out more.

3.     If you see the Shop tab at the top of the search results, click Shop to browse product Pins. If you don’t see the Shop tab, click All Pins next to the search bar and select Product Pins

Best Practices for retailers to sell on Instagram and Pinterest

-        Use high-quality images to advertise your product

-        Provide detailed product descriptions that will convince the user to buy

-      Optimise your landing pages and product feeds to help shoppers make their decision easily

What’s next?

 Experts believe that social media users are likely to continue engaging with apps like Pinterest and Instagram for shopping. Users are in constant search for the latest trends and inspiration when navigating the internet on their mobile devices. As a retailer, you should focus on building your online presence, optimizing your landing pages, and providing as much detail as possible to convince your page visitor to hit ‘buy’.

If you’re interested in selling for fashion on social media platforms like Pinterest and Instagram and you’ve found this post useful, let us know or read more knowledge posts here. 

Header Image credit: Unsplash Solen Feyissa