Instagram announced a mobile commerce test in which 20 U.S.-based retail brands will share posts with ?more depth,? accessible to users via a ?tap to view? icon.
The Facebook-owned photo- and video-sharing network said in a blog post that when the tap to view icon is tapped, tags will appear on products within the posts, featuring up to five products, along with pricing information.
Once those product tags are selected by users, they will see detailed views of the product and have access to a ?Shop Now? link, which will bring them to the retailers? websites to complete the transactions.

Brands participating in the test include Abercrombie & Fitch, BaubleBar, Chubbies, Coach, Hollister, J. Crew, JackThreads, Kate Spade New York, Levi?s, Lulus, Macy?s, Michael Kors, MVMT Watches, Shopbob, Target, Tory Burch and Warby Parker.
InstagramShoppingJackThreads from SocialTimes on Vimeo.

InstagramShoppingKateSpade from SocialTimes on Vimeo.

InstagramShoppingWarbyParker from SocialTimes on Vimeo.
Instagram said in its blog post that more than 84 percent of smartphone users in the U.S. browse, research or compare products via web browsers or mobile applications, and the vast majority of purchases take more than one day, with just 21 percent being completed within one day. Instagram added:
Instagram already is a great place for discovery on mobile. While consumer research informed the first step of this test, we expect to learn a lot from the businesses we?re working wi...