Instagram users can now order food and support small businesses through the app after it created an Action button to support to support local businesses during the current COVID-19 pandemic.
The Facebook-owned company announced that the initiative is a move to help ease the “immense challenges during the COVID‑19 crisis” and is “making it easier to discover gift cards, online food orders, and fundraisers on Instagram so you can support the businesses you love.”
The scheme was launched in the US and Canada last week and has now expanded to the UK as part of a worldwide rollout. Businesses will be able to share food orders and fundraiser stickers on their profiles in a bid to help small businesses cope and remain open.
An online product announcement stated that “businesses can share new gift card, food order, and fundraiser stickers in Stories and on their profiles. When you see gift cards or food orders, you can tap to make your purchase through our partner’s site.
“Gift cards and food orders for delivery and takeout are available in the US and Canada starting today and will roll out globally in the coming weeks, and fundraisers will be coming soon.”
Yuval Ben-Itzhak, CEO, Socialbakers comments:“With Instagram announcing new features to let people order food through Stories in the UK, it’s doing more than giving users a new way to eat while social distancing – it’s supporting local businesses when they need it most.
“The launch of Action buttons for a restaurant’s profile, and Food Order stickers they can use on Stories, shows that Instagram is clearly aware of the growing interest in ‘social commerce’ in the UK. Since the launch of Instagram Shopping last year, we know that users are invested in what they see on the platform: today 60% of users say they find new products on Instagram.
“As social media usage increases during lockdown, social commerce is a way for businesses to tie social media engagement to actual sales – and could help keep their business afloat.”