InstaNight: Shop Where You Scroll

In case you missed it, and there’s a good chance you did, on Dec 3, Instagram launched its first-ever exclusive online shopping event in Australia. Dubbed ‘InstaNight’, the app collaborated with over 100 big Aussie brands, presenting exclusive discount access to InstaNight shoppers. Offered through each brand’s account with little notice, the event targeted frequent scrollers.

It’s no secret that this year the global social brand has been promoting their new Shop function as well as sales within their app. This next step launches Instagram as an official e-commerce provider and shows the world that they’ll continue to elevate their in-app features as the landscape around them changes. Catering to the online shopping crowd, the Shop feed features recommended products as well as Editor’s Pick edits, collections and gift guides.

Instagram has always been the place people go to lust over home interiors, envy the trendy styles of influencers splashed across the Explore feed or stumble upon gift ideas. Now, with the Shop tab slapped onto the footer bar of every Instagram account across the country, the app has cleverly allowed us to shop where we search. They’ve fittingly connected users to brands and merchandise in a place that just makes sense, where they already spend the most time scrolling for inspiration.

This one-night event was a super exclusive, almost secret, production with next to no promotion in the hours leading up to it. Kicking off at 6pm, participating retailers splashed their stories and feeds with limited-time sales, and in some cases, promotions that have never been seen before. The one-night-only approach encouraged shoppers to snap up deals quickly with no hint if the event would be returning in the future.

Hyundai, one of the event’s brand partners, offered users the chance to sign up to pre-order their new i20N. A $500 deposit was all it took to be promised one of the latest models once they hit the roads in 2021. The car brand teased a surprise deal across their feed in the hours before the event. 

The auto industry isn’t known for providing exclusive access or discounts through social media, making this partnership a fun surprise. Getting a brand like Hyundai to show interest in this event is a huge kudos to Instagram’s e-commerce channel and shows that big brands are buying into their new interface direction.

Other recognizable names like Clinique, Aveda, David Jones, Kiehls, Platypus, Sheridan, and Nespresso were seen to have sales hitting their accounts the night of the event. While some ran the event with their own look and colours, many opted to feature the bright and playful InstaNight branding.

Now, some days after the event, you’ll not find a trace of the promotion on most of the brand partners’ Instagram accounts. Adding to the mystique and pop-up vibe of the event, most evidence either on Story or Feed was erased as soon as the sale ended, making buyers wonder, did it really happen? While your feed might say no, many have the evidence on their (nicely discounted) email invoices. 

Another partner for this event – though not a retailer – was AfterPay. The Buy Now, Pay Later giant was being promoted as a payment partner and new customers were offered $10 off purchases over $49. This is a match made in heaven, pairing a seemingly spontaneous shopping event with a payment service that allows you to pay for your purchases at a more convenient time.

With the holiday season getting closer, the InstaNight event was launched at the perfect time to catch the Black Friday procrastinators as well as the discount loving Christmas customers. While the sale didn’t last long, it gave shoppers a taste of what’s in store within the new app features. Plus, in a year that’s devastated brick and mortar shops, we think allowing easy access to Australia’s most loved brands online is a big win for retailers and shoppers alike.