Social Commerce Competition Heats Up With New Features For Instagram, Pinterest And TikTok

On Monday, an Instagram representative said the platform is making some changes to how brands and influencers interact that will make it easier for both parties to do business in a more organized way.

The changes are reflected in two aspects. First, influencers can tag up to two brands in sponsored content posts. They can then request approval from the brand through the app to officially designate their posts as branded content. Brands can see content tagged by other brands and can automatically approve the post. Posts can be published with or without approval, but the "Paid Partner" tag and brand name will not appear until it is approved.

Second, brands can now see data and insights for every sponsored Reels and Live post they’re tagged in. Since May 24, influencers have been able to see insights for posts they’ve tagged. Brands can now view analytics on performance, engagement and impact. This comes shortly after Instagram announced the Drops feature, which it launched in late May.

The new features are among several rolling out in the last month to social platforms ranging from Instagram to TikTok to Pinterest. Each is vying for the lucrative social commerce market. Social commerce in the United States is expected to grow 34% this year to $36 billion, according to eMarketer. In 2020, eMarketer reported that social commerce sales grew 38%, exceeding its forecast of 20% growth. Social commerce is already huge in Asia, especially in China, where it's a $300 billion business.

Instagram’s new Drops feature lets brands announce upcoming products, generate buzz, and release limited-edition products for a set time, similar to how streetwear brands like Supreme operate. Charlotte Tilbury is one of the first five brands to use the new Drops feature, and a representative said the brand will continue to use the feature in the coming weeks.

Some big brands have touted the success of Instagram Shopping, such as Sephora, which joined the program last year.

Pinterest also had social commerce news on Monday. It launched a two-week rotating curated online store featuring exclusive products from DTC brands. The store is called The Goods and among the first brands will be Outdoor Voices. Aya Kanai, Pinterest's head of content and creator partnerships, said the platform's shoppable pages saw a 200% increase in engagement between March 2020 and March 2021, while merchant product uploads increased 14x during the same period .

TikTok is the latest, less than five years old, and is also testing social commerce. As of last month, the platform was piloting social commerce projects in the UK and parts of Southeast Asia, focusing on streetwear brands. While TikTok hasn't officially announced plans to compete globally with Instagram Shop, it could very well be around the corner.

Despite lacking a dedicated store page like Instagram, TikTok's shoppable ads have proven popular.