Instagram announced a new “Payments in Chat” feature today via Meta Newsroom. This would allow consumers to buy directly from eligible small business direct messages on social media.
This add-on allows buyers and sellers to communicate in real time, request or collect payments, and track orders directly from Instagram chat.
Meta says in an advertisement:
“We want to help people start conversations with businesses they care about and help them find and buy products they love in an easy, seamless experience, right from the conversation thread.”
According to Meta, 1 billion users send corporate messages weekly across the company’s social media platforms. This includes chatting with brands, browsing products, requesting support, and interacting with stories.
A new function that simplifies the purchasing process
Payments in the use of chat Meta Pay To simplify in-app purchases on social media. Instead of the traditional payment process of clicking between pages and websites, Meta Pay allows customers to pay with just a few clicks. It also ensures secure processing and provides protection for purchases.
Users can start a conversation with merchants via direct messages, ask questions about products and then complete purchases in the same thread.
Seamless buying could mean more sales for small businesses
By streamlining the transactional process, businesses that use Instagram as a sales platform can see an increase in sales volume. Companies can take advantage of this new functionality with Meta Shopsmaking it easy to create a seamless online store for Facebook and Instagram.
It will also be available to businesses that are not currently using Shops, allowing them to handle chat, provide support, and complete purchases without ever leaving the Instagram platform.
However, as with all online purchases, there is always the potential for bad actors, including hackers and fraudulent shops that seek to mislead and steal money from unwary customers.
Source: meta
Featured image: Screenshot from about.fb.com/news, July 2022.
