Following Instagram’s announcement earlier this month that it would pilot shoppable posts alongside 20 leading retail brands, the image and video-sharing platform is building an e-commerce team in New York, Fortune reports.
Hiring has taken place over the past several months and is being spearheaded by product direct Blake Barnes, according to the outlet, with the e-commerce team ultimately comprising 50 total staffers. This isn’t to say, however, that fully-integrated shopping features will arrive on Instagram anytime soon. While shoppable posts currently direct consumers to retailers’ respective websites to make their final purchases, Fortune says that Instagram’s fully-realized e-commerce initiative is slated to launch in two to four years.
Current participants in the shoppable posts pilot program include BaubleBar, J.Crew, Macy’s, Target, and Warby Parker. These companies are currently able to share posts that have a special icon that illuminates price tags for up to five products per image. Once these price tags are tapped, additional details open up within Instagram about each respective product.
Instagram said in a blog post earlier this month it will continue to explore product recommendations, product showcasing, global expansion, and the ability to save content as additional ecommerce features continue to roll out.
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