Curalate Brings E-Commerce To Instagram; Nordstrom Is First To Sell

The marriage between social media and ecommerce still isn’t official, but it seems like every week they take a least a few steps closer to the altar.

And while the major social networks in the space — Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest — continue treading cautiously, one company has created a solution that works today on Instagram.

It’s not quite seamless — customers still have to maneuver through a few hoops to buy products from their Instagram feeds — but Curalate’s Like2Buy is pretty slick.

Here’s how it works for Nordstrom, the first of Curalate’s clients to enable it:

• When customers come across a Nordstrom Instagram post with a product they are interested in, they are encouraged to click to the Nordstrom Instagram profile
• In the profile, there’s a Like2Buy link that when clicked (or tapped on the mobile app) takes the user to a gallery of featured products.
• Clicking on any of the items on the gallery page, takes the user to the item’s page on Nordstrom.com. There’s also a “My Likes” function that allows users to bookmark photos for later purchase (by liking a photo in the business’ feed).

Nordstrom is pleased so far.

“We continue to hear from customers that they want speed and convenience incorporated into all the places they shop -– including our social platforms,” Nordstrom social media director Bryan Galipeau said in a release. “We connect with more than 500,000 customers on Instagram by posting items we hope they find inspirational, beautiful and fun. Like2Buy enhances the experience even more for customers who want to take the next step and learn more about the great fashion we’re featuring or even make a purchase.”