In A First, Shopify To Integrate Checkout Technology Directly Within Facebook And Instagram

Ecommerce platform Shopify its integrating its Shop Pay checkout technology within Facebook and Instagram in a move that illuminates the growing import of social commerce.

This means that Shopify merchants who are selling their wares using Facebook and Instagram’s native ecommerce capabilities can enable consumers to pay for their goods via Shop Pay on each platform. It marks the first time that Shopify has integrated its checkout technology onto any third-party service, the company said in a blog post.

Shop Pay is available on Instagram today, and will roll out to Facebook Shops in coming weeks. Shop Pay will join other checkout options on Facebook’s payment system, Facebook Pay, including PayPal and the ability to manually enter credit or debit card information, notes The Wall Street Journal.

Shopify says its Shop Pay technology completed more than 137 million orders in 2020, and has facilitated nearly $20 billion in total sales since its launch in 2017 alongside partner retailers like Allbirds

, Kith, Beyond Yoga, and Jonathan Adler. Shopify also says that Shop Pay facilitates checkouts that are 70% faster than average, with a pre-populated, one-click billing and shipping information entry process. Shop Pay also enables consumers to manage and track their purchases via the Shop app.

“People are embracing social platforms not only for connection, but for commerce,” Shop GM Carl Rivera said in a statement. “Making Shop Pay available outside of Shopify for the first time means even more shoppers can use the fastest and best checkout on the internet. And there’s more to come: we’ll continue to work with Facebook to bring a number of Shopify services and products to these platforms to make social selling so much better.”

Shopify also announced an ad integration with TikTok in October, enabling Shop owners to create, manage, and measure their TikTok ad campaigns natively within the Shopify platform.