Gen Y and Gen Z seem to be spending the most amount of time on social media platforms Snapchat and Instagram, and retailers are taking note. Many big brands such as Victoria’s Secret® and Target® have advertised through both sites and in May, Instagram started allowing selected users to purchase items from retail ads directly through the platform. After taking note of what drives consumers to make a purchase, Snapchat is following in Instagram’s footsteps and allowing users to purchase products from posted stories.
Shoppable Instagram stories have a shopping bag sticker on the screen and users can pause the story and tap the icon to see more details, including additional images and pricing with a link for them to purchase the product. Big brands such as Adidas®, Aritzia®, and The Kooples® are already using the feature.
SnapChat
In April, Snap began testing a commerce function that let users swipe up and buy items inside the app, according to Digiday. In June, Snap announced that test within Snap Ads and Story Ads, also making shoppable augmented reality lenses available in its self-serve platform as well.
Now, brands can sell right through sponsored ad lenses, which is basically a pretty filter people can use, with a button link saying “shop now,” where users can buy the product directly inside the app, or “install now” for apps. This makes consumer shopping much easier since consumers won’t have to leave the app and wait for a website to load in order to buy a product, which will also entice impulse buys.
According to Snap, 70 million users engage with lenses each day. The prices for these lens ads can vary from day to day. From Sunday through Thursday, advertising through a lens costs $450,000 per day. Friday and Saturday run $500,000 per day, and holidays and special events cost $700,000 per day, according to Oberlo.
Another way to advertise on Snap is through Snap Ads, which are mobile video ads that can be best explained as 3-10 second full-screen vertical video ads, according to the article. Snapchat users can swipe up while the promo is playing in order to watch a longer video, read an article, get directed to a website, or install an app. These ads show up between watching friend’s stories. The cost for these ads start at around $3,000 per month, but it is shown that the swipe-up rate for Snap Ads is 5x higher than that of the average click-through rate for other websites.
Geofilters
These prices can be way too high for independent retailers just trying to get their name out, but there are other less expensive options that can still put your products in front of future customers. Oberlo also states that you can get On-Demand Geofilters, which are $5 per 20,000 square feet.
Geofilters are Snap’s very own tool to help you create your own stuff. You can add your own design, like a logo or the name of your store, or choose from one of Snap’s templates. You can pick a time and set the parameters of what areas your filter reaches. Afterwards, you submit your filter to Snap for review, which only takes about a day.
This cheap filter can be super helpful if your store is having an event and you want to gain publicity without breaking the bank. Customers nearby will see what you have going on through the filter, and you can do fun give-a-ways or discounts if customers use the filter in their Snap story.
Holiday Season
As retailers begin to prepare for the holiday season, they need to take into account their customers’ shopping habits. A study from Snapchat found that in 2017, Snap users bought 20% more gifts than the average consumer who did not use the platform. They also found that on Black Friday, Snapchatters are 64% more likely to start holiday shopping than non-Snapchatters. Now is the time to act for holiday advertising, and using Snapchat could be a smart move for increasing foot traffic.