Instagram is moving toward becoming a full-blown e-commerce platform

This is an excerpt from a story delivered exclusively to Business Insider Intelligence E-Commerce Briefing subscribers. To receive the full story plus other insights each morning, click here.Influencers and media companies that work with brands on Instagram will soon be able to use the in-app checkout feature the company began testing in March, according to The New York Times.The in-app checkout allows consumers to tap a shoppable product tag in a post, select product details like sizing and coloring prior to clicking a “Checkout on Instagram” button, and enter their payment and shipping information to complete the purchase, all without leaving the app.To start, 23 brands will work with 55 content creator accounts. Instagram doesn't currently take a cut of sales, charging brands using the checkout service a fee instead.Here's what it means: This expansion of in-app checkout should benefit retailers' and brands' ability to sell on Instagram and maximize their influencer partnerships.Selling directly through content creators on Instagram can boost merchants' ability to capitalize on social media's influence by making conversion simpler. By allowing consumers to check out right on Instagram, brands and retailers may be able to inspire more impulse purchases because consumers won't have to go through a laborious checkout process where they might get frustrated or just change their mind about the product. And given social media's immense impact on shoppers — 58% of consumers say social media influences their purchase decisions, according to a reportfrom SUMO Heavy — in-app checkout could facilitate turning that influence into purchases immediately.Having influencers offer in-app checkout can allow merchants to track their effectiveness more directly. Brands and their chosen influencers will be able to see metrics about how shoppable posts perform, according to Variety, which will likely enable merchants to pin down exactly how many conversions the posts are driving in-app. With this knowledge, companies can improve their influencer marketing strategies and better take advantage of Instagram influencers' value going forward.The bigger picture: The rollout of this feature is likely another step in the process of making Instagram a full-blown e-commerce platform.Instagram's in-app checkout could eventually be made available to all brands and influencers, and even regular users, making most or all of its posts shoppable. If this comes to pass, it'll be easier for Instagram to become a shopping destination because it would offer a consistent and streamlined checkout experience.It's likely that the feature will eventually be available to most merchants and their selected influencers, as that would give Instagram that unified experience, but allowing everyday users to make their posts shoppable may not come to pass since brands wouldn't have the same level of control over their image.Instagram may want to give all users these tools, however, because it would help include users in its e-commerce platform and potentially build its reputation as a retail option.Interested in getting the full story？ Here are two ways to get access: 1. Sign up for the E-Commerce Briefing to get it delivered to your inbox 6x a week. >> Get Started2. Subscribe to a Premium pass to Business Insider Intelligence and gain immediate access to the E-Commerce Briefing, plus more than 250 other expertly researched reports. As an added bonus, you'll also gain access to all future reports and daily newsletters to ensure you stay ahead of the curve and benefit personally and professionally. >> Learn More Now