Meta wants to compete with TikTok Shop by integrating purchasing directly into videos

For the past few years, social media has been gradually transforming into veritable shopping malls. Between influencer recommendations, product reviews, and "haul" videos, content increasingly blends entertainment and commercial promotion.

Faced with this observation, Meta wants to take a further step by directly integrating shopping into the heart of its short video formats.

Indeed, the company is preparing a feature that will allow creators to add shopping links directly to their Reels on Instagram and Facebook.

This development aims to simplify the user experience, while allowing Meta to catch up with competitors like TikTok…

Up to 30 shopping links in a single Reel

Until now, creators of Creators could recommend products in their videos, but redirecting users to a merchant site remained complicated. Viewers generally had to leave the video, go to the creator's profile, and click on a link, often hosted on third-party services like Linktree. This process involved several steps, and each additional click potentially lost a buyer. Meta's new feature aims to reduce this friction. Now, eligible creators will be able to directly integrate clickable links into their Reels. On Instagram, it will be possible to add up to 30 products in a single video. In Meta's Facebook post, items must come from marketplace partners like Amazon, Temu, or eBay. Meta's goal is to transform video into a true point of sale, where users discover a product in a Reel, click the link, and go directly to the purchase page. For creators, this development can also represent a new source of revenue. Affiliate links, which allow influencers to earn a commission on generated sales, are already a major financial lever in the influencer economy.

Meta wants to catch up with TikTok in social commerce

Meta's initiative is also part of a competitive strategy, particularly with TikTok, and has even gone further with TikTok Shop, very popular in France, an integrated marketplace where users can buy products without leaving the application.

Faced with this proven model, Meta is therefore gradually aligning its platforms with industry standards. In its Instagram press release, the company specifies that it will not take a commission on sales made through these links, at least initially.

But behind this apparent free access lies another issue, because each click and each purchase will allow Meta to obtain information on users' purchasing behavior, data that is particularly valuable for fueling its advertising activity.

Finally, it should be noted that for the moment, the feature is only being rolled out in the United States and in certain Asian markets, with partners such as Amazon and Shopee. Eventually, other sales platforms should be gradually integrated, although the rollout in other regions remains unclear.