Instagram will now let users make purchases directly from chats, also known as Direct Messages (DMs), on the platform. The company made the announcement in a blog post. The Meta-owned platform noted that select qualified small businesses would support the feature. Once an order is placed via a chat thread, the user will be able to make payment, track the order, etc all from the same thread.
“Each week, one billion people message a business across our family of apps — whether it’s chatting with brands, browsing products, asking for support or interacting with stories. 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 chat thread,” the company wrote in the blog post.
It is not clear how many businesses will be allowed to use the feature, though Instagram notes that it will give access to more businesses as this feature is rolled out further. The feature to make payments in chats will also be expanded for more users in the future.
According to Instagram, users will be able to message a business about any item they like and then make further requests from the chat. This will include the ability to track orders, ask the business follow-up questions, etc. It also looks like users will have to rely on Meta Pay–the company’s own payment solution— to complete purchases. This means that the feature could be limited to the US market in the early days.
For business owners, the feature will support the ability to talk to customers in real-time to answer questions and confirm purchase details. It will also allow the business to create a payment request with item description and price, as well as request and collect payment.
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