The days of fashion retail being a side hobby for major technology companies are over. And experts might someday reflect on this week as one of the major thresholds in the transition.
Instagram and Amazon tipped their hands thanks to new updates that aim to boost fashion discovery. The photo-sharing network just expanded brands’ ability to promote influencer content, while the e-commerce juggernaut juiced up intelligent style identification and recommendations with a new feature called StyleSnap.
The two companies are often uttered in the same breath, as examples of tech giants going after fashion commerce and discovery through a variety of routes.
Instagram has gone from mere inspiration destination to e-commerce enabler, complete with shopping carts and checkout features. The company recently allowed influencers to share shoppable posts, and with its just-announced branded content ads, brands will be able to promote influencer content as advertisements in feeds and Stories.
Ultimately, the latest change means users will see content from people or companies they don’t follow, and marketers see vast opportunity in the update. “Paid media tools from a platform, like Instagram, are revolutionary, and for us, they help to produce better return on ad spend, foot traffic into stores and sales,” said Ryan Detert,
Amazon and Instagram Update Target Fashion
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