Images play an increasingly important role in the purchasing processes of e-commerce consumers. So it’s no accident that social networks such as Snapchat, Instagram and Pinterest have started to launch online-purchase functions.

Social networks more like online sellers

Monday March 19, 2017 was marked by the launch of “Shop the Look” in France by the image-sharing social network Pinterest. Just one day later, “Instagram Shopping” was also deployed throughout the country, with the aim of changing the face of e-commerce.

These two new functions have much in common between them. They allow online sellers to directly identify certain articles (bags, shoes, dresses, jackets, etc.) on the images that they post. This way, when users click on an article on an image, they are automatically redirected to an online shop where there can buy the item in question.

But Pinterest and Instagram aren’t the only social networks to pick up e-commerce. One month earlier, Snapchat had already opened an online shop directly integrated into its app. This Snapchat function allows users to purchase derivative objects bearing the brand’s logo, the aim being to convey the message to online sellers that the social network is adapted to e-commerce.

The power of the image means e-commerce is increasingly social

2018 will no doubt be marked by the current turn being taken by e-commerce, both in France and elsewhere in the world. Activity is more and more social, with the purchasing decisions of consumers being increasingly influenced by image-sharing social networks.

Thanks to the power of the image, online sellers can legitimately test out new ways of selling on Instagram or Pinterest: “outfit”-based sales. This, in any case, is the observation made by Benjamin Zenou, a young French entrepreneur: “Sellers propose looks made up of different items that buyers can purchase in one go on their websites.”

Staging one’s products is now more crucial than ever. And this is one of our services most sought after by our clients. Whatever the type of retouching you need for your e-commerce catalogue, don’t hesitate to contact us directly.