BigCommerce is now letting customers upload ‘shoppable’ Instagram stories.

Brands on the e-commerce platform can tag products within their Instagram stories, meaning viewers can click on the products and go directly to the store to purchase the item.

In 2017, BigCommerce partnered with Instagram for the launch of its shopping functionality, which made shopping on the app available across 44 countries. Through this, BigCommerce merchants can tag products in their Instagram posts, making information such as pricing and product descriptions available to browsers.

The service has been available to American sellers since October last year. In March, it was rolled out on an international scale, with UK fashion brands like Olive and Physiq Apparel already getting involved.

Rohan Moore, managing director at Olive Clothing, said “While Instagram has given us the ability to connect our brand personality with our audience, social media conversation is most effective for businesses when based around product; we’ve always felt the experience would be stronger with an added commerce element.”

“In an e-commerce market crowded with digital solutions promising high returns, this feature stands out as a uniquely powerful tool to leverage one of our brand’s most valuable assets,” she added.

More than 500 million people are active on Instagram every day, according to Kevin Weil, Instagram’s vice president of product. Instagram Stories have seen rapid growth and consumption year on year, with consumers and brands of all sizes using the feature, which allows users to tell a story through a collection of pictures and video posts.

The social media app reported that the average complete rate for brand stories this year so far is 72 per cent, an 8 per cent increase from the same time last year

Jimmy Duvall, chief product officer at BigCommerce, said that after seeing the immediate impact Instagram commerce had on customer engagement and sales growth, retailers have been anxiously awaiting for the opportunity to extend product tagging to Instagram Stories.

“Today's announcement represents yet another way that our merchants are able to use social commerce to create meaningful connections with their customers.”

Earlier this month, rumours emerged that Instagram is planning to launch a new standalone app dedicated to shopping.

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