Apple Pay and 3D Touch may play a crucial role in Instagram’s quest to develop a more robust marketing platform, based on some new ads the company has started testing.
Instagram has rolled out a number of new ads that let users shop for stuff like clothing, food, skateboards and more by simply using 3D Touch to bring up a menu of options that makes the process of buying goods nearly instantaneous.
A new Shop Now button was add to Instagram earlier this year, and according to a new report from DigiDay, the photo sharing network plans to use 3D Touch combined with Apple Pay to make the experience more immersive.
“From an innovation standpoint, Instagram is where a lot of brands are putting the most eggs,” DigiDay’s source at one ad agency executive said. “Force touch gets interesting, because instead of quickly tapping Shop Now to buy this one thing, you can choose from two or three offers. It makes for more frictionless shopping.”
The current 3D Touch implementation in the ads allows users to hard press on an image to switch between multiple product options. Facebook has been trying to increase Instagram’s advertising appeal to brands by offering better targeted ad leads than search engines can provide. Now that the holidays are coming up, the more shopping options it can offer shoppers, the more cash it’ll be able to rack in thanks to splurging gift buyers.
