Some users on TikTok are seeing a new ‘Shop’ tab in the app
on the main screen, next to the ‘Following’ and ‘For You’ tabs.
Earlier, TikTok was testing another new feed called ‘Nearby,’ where users could discover local content. While the tab hasn’t officially made its way into the app as of yet, it seems like TikTok has begun experimenting with a new eCommerce element simultaneously. Via the Shop feed, users will be able to connect to the TikTok Shop display, directly.
Marketplace has been one of Meta’s most useful eCommerce
incorporations, providing a space for customers to discover and connect with
reliable local sellers to purchase from. The platform has been recently updated
with a new feature that allows sellers to record and upload videos in their
listings.
Up until now, sellers were only able to add photos to their product listings. Explaining how videos can help enhance a business’ presence on Marketplace, Meta says that videos “can give you 360-degree views of an item, greater proof that the item a seller has listed is what they say it is, and that they actually have the item on hand making the buying process smoother and safer.”
The term “Black Friday” is used to refer to the day after
Thanksgiving Day in the United States. It first became widely known in the 1980’s.
This term was originally created by the police as they associated the chaotic atmosphere
especially traffic congestions with the unofficial start of the Christmas
shopping season. Black Friday has regularly been the busiest shopping day of
the year since the early 2000s. This is so because many retailers started
offering exceptional discounts and opening up their stores earlier in the
morning to entertain as many consumers as possible.
In an effort to promote eCommerce activities on its
platform, TikTok is gradually rolling out its latest in-app shopping tools to
users around the world. Among these, the company recently launched a ‘Shops’ functionality
in the US.
Shops isn’t all that new to TikTok, as it’s already been available to users in the UK and Southeast Asia for about a year now. The tool is added in the app in form of separate tab where users can discover products and make purchases directly.
It has been three years since Instagram launched its @shop
account, where it has featured numerous small businesses. The company is now opening
its first ever physical retail pop-up store in NYC, where it is showcasing some
of the most popular home, beauty, and lifestyle products featured in its @shop
listings. The shop will also feature other exclusive items.
The pop-up shops initiative is a part of Meta’s larger effort to promote eCommerce, and Instagram is a key app for this matter, with 70% of users turning to it for product discovery, and 87% of people claiming that influencers on the platform have inspired them to make a purchase or book a trip.
To help
businesses enhance their eCommerce practices on Google, the tech giant is
introducing some new tools for brands, including a new ratings program
called the Shopping Experience Scorecard Program and additional insights
into key product trends.
The new shopping experience rating program has been designed
to provide customers with insight into the performance of each brand, based on
past activity. For instance, brands that receive high ratings based on good
services would receive a ‘Trusted Store’ badge by Google, hence highlighting their
potential to customers. The badge would appear next to the seller’s free
product listings on the Shopping tab.
Google explained how the program would decide to offer
badges to the sellers: the program will track different elements of service
provided by the sellers, including shipping speed, shipping cost, return cost,
and return window. Then, each element would be rated individually, ranging between
“Excellent”, “Comparable”, or “Opportunity.”
Moreover, the performances of the brands will be monitored constantly, so as to provide accurate and updated insights to customers.
Twitter is
expanding its eCommerce approach, with the addition of options like product
listings and a newly released feature called Twitter Shops. This feature has
been designed to help users view all the products listed by a business via
Twitter.
Through Twitter Shops, brands will be able to handpick a
collection of up to 50 products to showcase to customers on Twitter. Similarly,
customers will be able to browse products from their favourite brands directly
on Twitter.
In celebration of Valentine’s Day, Instagram launched a
special livestream shopping event, hosted by Instagram influencer Paige
DeSorbo, who has 658k followers in the app. DeSorbo is also a host of weekly
fashion streams on Amazon Live, which makes her an experienced personality to help
maximize Instagram’s eCommerce push on Valentine’s Day.
Other known personalities that have joined DeSorbo in the
livestream include Celebrity stylist and reality star Brad Goreski with 787k
followers, Makeup artist Kelli Anne with 128k followers, Reality stars Uche
Nwosu and Clinton Moxam with 247k and 409k followers, respectively.
Snapchat has updated its AR tools with yet another eCommerce
related feature called Catalog-Powered Shopping Lenses. This is offering a
variety of virtual try-on options for users and simultaneously facilitating brands
to showcase their products within a single Lens on the app. Each item displayed
in the Lens will also provide you details about the product, including its
price.
These Catalog Lenses will be directly linked to brands’ product
catalogs, so you may check out other similar products offered by the companies.
At the same time, Snapchat will be able to deliver direct, product-aligned
feedback to brands, in real-time.
This eCommerce and AR collaboration by Snapchat will also give
valuable insights to the company in terms of what products its users are
interested in engaging with. The data will also help it improve its ad target
systems as well as the performance of its campaigns.
Snapchat has also updated its Lens Web Builder tool with new templates and tools to streamline the process of creating shopping AR Lenses for brands. For example, brands can build AR experiences by using pre-made functions, while users point and click their way through the Lens creation process.
Snapchat’s AR Try-On tools have been updated with a new
option called ComplexCon, using which, people can now virtually try on branded
clothes including t-shirts and hoodies in the app and check out their look
without having to visit shops.
#ComplexCon drops are now in AR. Shop exclusive items from home with this Gift Shop Lens, just...
— Snapchat (@Snapchat) November 6, 2021
📱 Open your Snapchat
🤳 Scan the Snap code
✅ Choose your apparel or accessory
👕 Try-on virtually
🔥 Cop the drop
Try it athttps://t.co/89yDJkPk4P pic.twitter.com/CMztpyfUMG
Visually, however, the digital overlays do not appear
perfect in their alignment according to the user’s proportions. Nonetheless, Snapchat
is likely going to improve its body-mapping technology, which it has been constantly
updating ever since its release.
The ComplexCon is similar to Snapchat’s existing AR feature
that allows trying on other products like make-up, glasses, jewelry, shoes, purses,
etc., which Snapchat had primarily launched for ad campaigns. Moreover, the
company had also collaborated with Prada and Farfetch to offer a range of
try-on upper body clothing.
Pinterest is making its way into the latest live-stream
commerce trend, as it just announced a new project called PinterestTV, which consists of a series of live
shopping events.
The PinterestTV shopping events, according to Pinterest, will
start broadcasting from the 8th of November and will consist of episodes
featuring creators on Pinterest. The episodes will be updated each weekday and will
be recorded and available to watch on-demand. Users will also be able to save
and rewatch these episodes later.
#PinterestTV is here with live episodes weekdays at 3pm PST/6pm EST starting Nov 8. Try something new with @TomDaley1994, chat fashion with @CSiriano, or fix your #PinterestFail with Monica Suriyage. Get ready to tune in: https://t.co/RMpRokrviR pic.twitter.com/fu8auVezYa
— Pinterest (@Pinterest) November 1, 2021
The purpose behind these shopping event episodes is to enable users to take up exclusive deals in the app, via the immediate live-stream broadcasts. Products in a live shopping setting will be added each Friday, and users will be able to avail discounts from brands including Patagonia, All Birds, Crown Affair, Melody Ehsani, Outdoor Voices, Mented and more.
PayPal has redesigned its app to include a variety of new
features, including support for a high-yield savings account and a way to find
coupons in-app. The changes made in the app are quite visible at the first
glance with the revamped homepage.
Previously, PayPal’s app emphasized on displaying the
account balance at the forefront. Now, the homepage displays a quick access to
a number of things, including your balance, your crypto balance, and your
frequent contacts. Other options also appear under different tabs and hubs.
Under the wallet tab, you will see direct deposit and PayPal’s
credit and debit cards. The payments hub includes peer-to-peer payments, bill
pay, charitable donations, and messaging. Similarly, the shopping tab shows coupons
and loyalty programs, while the finance tab includes cryptocurrencies and the
new high-yield savings account.
Facebook has been constantly making efforts to promote
eCommerce across its platform and so, the company’s latest set of tools revolves
around the consumer-business connection. Facebook is working on improving
business discovery and has introduced personalized messaging, along with new
management tools to help businesses maximize their activity and reach.
Lets take a look at what each of the new tools is about. First,
there is a click-to-message ad option that allows businesses to engage with
more customers in various messaging apps. Up until now, businesses could reach
out to customers via Messenger, Instagram Direct or WhatsApp. Now, it is
possible for them to choose any other messaging app where they wish to chat
with customers.
Facebook will add a messaging app as default in the ads by detecting an app that is most used by a user and then prompt them to contact businesses through the particular app.
Facebook has introduced a new local business directory in WhatsApp
that will show users a listing of active local business profiles in the app. Users
will be able to view full profiles of businesses, which would include their products,
contact details, and possibly other information.
The new business directory feature is Facebook’s attempt for
promoting eCommerce through WhatsApp, so as to give rise to digital transformation,
especially in developing regions. With billions of users, WhatsApp is becoming
a powerful day-to-day digital tool and is no more just a social media platform.
Digital transformation through WhatsApp has already seen a rise in countries like
India and Indonesia.
Statistics show that more than 175 million people are already in contact with businesses in WhatsApp every day. Therefore, it seems like business discovery could be a successful addition to WhatsApp.
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