Prior to Covid-19 lockdowns, s-commerce — which involves making direct purchases through Facebook, Instagram or WhatsApp — was still loosely considered to be a far-flung
With high streets, malls and boutiques across the world re-emerging from lockdown, albeit with strict hygiene and social distancing guidelines in place, the lusty tangibility of perusing stores has turned into a pared back clinical exercise in pandemic control. When the fashion world predicted that experiential shopping would be the future, wearing a hazmat suit to buy an Hermès Kelly isn’t quite what they had in mind.
The bells and whistles of brick-and-mortar — which used to include swilling free champagne with friends, and talking endlessly to your favourite sales associate — may not be returning anytime soon, and when it does, there’s a chance we might already be comfortable without it.
Spearheaded by Facebook, which counts over 2.5 billion daily users, Mark Zuckerberg first toyed with the idea of s-commerce back in 2012, but it never gained momentum. With the world under lockdown and usage of Facebook and Instagram up by 40 per cent (according to consultancy firm Kantar), Zuckerberg decided to accelerate the launch of ‘Shops’– a virtual high street interwoven throughout the Facebook family across Instagram and WhatsApp.
Rolling out in the US first, people can access Shops by simply searching for their favourite brand on the Facebook homepage. Once they’re on their page, they can browse the brand’s full collection or save their favourite products and place an order later. If they have questions – they can chat directly with the brand on WhatsApp or Facebook messenger.
With independent designers and small business pummelled by the financial impact of Covid-19 (namely 2018’s CFDA winner Sies Marjan, which shuttered in early June) the opportunity to convert a brand’s Instagram and Facebook following into direct sales could prove to be more fruitful than the high street itself. “For many, the only way to stay afloat is by doing more online and building a digital presence, or make these [Shops] their primary storefronts” says Evita Barra, who leads the Auto and Luxury sector of Facebook and Instagram, “This is where the future of commerce was already heading, but it’s particularly relevant now.”
In late-May, Eva Chen (pictured above), Instagram’s Director of Fashion Partnerships, introduced a slew of new features that can carry a small brand from fashion show to immediate sales, all within the IG framework. Now able to tap and buy the items they see someone wearing on Stories and IG Live, users are now able to flit between messaging friends, watching live interviews or fashion shows, and shop at the same time, in one place.
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