Coming with the release of iPhone 6 and 6s, 3D Touch is new and potential but largely untouched by users. However, a new report form Digiday discloses the latest tactic of Instagram to experiment with this marquee feature: a new pre-eminent type of ads that enable the users to interact and buy the displayed items using Apple Pay as payment system.
Yeah, folks, you heard that right. In the future, iPhone 6S users will have the ability to interact with advertising through the 3D Touch feature of their smartphones. Even though ads are largely undesired pests to phone users, if the Facebook-owned photo-sharing social network manages to make them interactive-able, it could be the most creative money-making strategy.
Instagram launched Shop Now button in June which let users to jump to a purchase screen on an ad, identical to other purchasing buttons first appeared on Twitter and Pinterest. Now, it seems they want to take thing to whole new level.
The question is how will 3D Touch affect the ad? By pressing your thumbs harder to toggle between advertised items. 3D Touch, which registers when you press harder on the iPhone 6S screen, would allow advertisers to place multiple images inside one ad that users could scroll. Then, it’s Apple Pay’s turn as the system allows users to purchase whichever product almost immediately, using their fingerprints as an alternative way rather than credit card information.
No need to exit Instagram, no need to go to the website of the sellers, it’s just couldn’t get any easier than that.
“From an innovation standpoint, Instagram is where a lot of brands are putting the most eggs,” said an ad agency executive familiar with the tests. “Force touch gets interesting, because instead of quickly tapping Shop Now to buy this one thing, you can choose from two or three offers. It makes for more frictionless shopping.”
Instagram used to do a fine job keeping ads in a comfort zone as the company initially urged and carefully consider each advertiser in terms of making organic photos. However, the company gradually allows more brand-bought photos to appear, thus making the quality goes down and the intrusiveness goes up. Because what’s worse than an ad that you just can look at?
Therefore, this innovation is something much needed in the current setting. With the aid of 3D Touch, advertisers can liven up their posts and customers will have more to look at than just annoying, spam-like portfolio of photo. Not only customers are lured to shop, but bigger brands may also be attracted to advertise in Instagram.
It could also exploit new capability of 3D Touch and put the new feature in a good use.
Everything is still in a testing phase as 3D Touch was just recently introduced with iPhone 6 line in September. But, a statement sent to AppleInsider from Instagram itself denied the story. “Mobile commerce is definitely a space we are looking at closely. However, this isn’t something we are testing at this time.”, read the statement.