Instagram Update for iOS: Ads Using 3D Touch, Apple Pay Being Tested?
Over the weekend, there were reports going around claiming Instagram is looking to expand to a new shopping experience that lets users make a purchase on their iPhones 6S without leaving the main Instagram app.
DigiDay reported that the photo-sharing social network is allegedly experimenting on the pressure-sensitive 3D Touch feature on the iPhone 6S variants as a means for users to interact with ads and purchase items via the Apple Pay mobile payment system.
With the aid of 3D Touch, advertisers can fit multiple images of products in one screen where users can scroll through with thumb presses. The technology's integration with Apple Pay would supposedly allow customers to pay with their fingerprint instead of typing in their credit card data.
For those in the restaurant business, they could simply place menu items as thumbnail pictures for customers to scroll through and order via the app. The idea applies to clothing, footwear, household equipment, etc.
It can be remembered that Instagram had already launched a "Shop Now" button back in June. The feature directed users to a smaller purchase screen on an ad similar to buy buttons found on Twitter and Pinterest.
The button doesn't take users away from Instagram entirely. Instead, it opens a mini-browser within the app. After users are done buying or downloading something, they will be directed back to Instagram.
"Instagram is not an index or collection of the web where syndicated links matter, it's about photos people take. You're not retweeting, regramming, or passing a link on" Instagram brand executive James Quarles told TechCrunch following the debut of "Shop Now."
"In these cases where there are businesses...we think that it's a very lightweight experience to go into an in-app browser...and then come back to the app. We're staying true to the values of simplicity," he added.
The latest report ran contradictory to Quarles' statement, so it wasn't surprising when it was found out that news regarding 3D Touch integration to Apple Pay for Instagram wasn't true, at least for now anyway.
According to SlashGear, Instagram not only squashed reports that it is experimenting on 3D Touch but it also denied that the company is looking to enter online shopping.
"Mobile commerce is definitely a space we are looking at closely. However, this isn't something we are testing at this time," said a representative from Instagram.
Even though Instagram has went on public to deny their expansion to online shopping, many tech analysts predict the social network to be a major force in the world of online shopping. When it eventually decides to expand, Instagram could earn close to $2 billion a year in revenue from ads all the through 2017.
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