After a surge in Instagram livestreams since the start of Covid-19, shoppable capabilities have finally joined the live experience on the platform.
Connected to Instagram Checkout, the Instagram Live Shopping feature quietly rolled out in beta in June to a select group of users chosen by the platform and was announced by Facebook on August 25 along with additional developments of its commerce features. Influencer-founded beauty labels Dragun Beauty and U Beauty were among the first to host shopping-enabled livestreams earlier in the summer. Beauty brands’ foray into livestream commerce comes as a growing number have been leaning into Instagram Checkout, which Facebook has announced will come out of beta, along with Live Shopping, within weeks.
“There’s an immediacy for people who want it right away,” said U Beauty founder Tina Craig, who promoted the brand’s Resurfacing Compound on her @bagsnob account in her first shoppable livestream on June 25. In order to attract users to watch, she said in an Instagram post that she would be revealing her second product ahead of its launch, the Super Smart Hydrator that ultimately launched on September 1. She also promoted a 20% discount off the Resurfacing Compound, which sells in three sizes from $88 to $228. In an Instagram message after the livestream, she posted that the discount would be extended by 24 hours on Instagram Checkout, saying many viewers were unable to check out during the live.
