Nordstrom Uses Instagram to Engage Its Customers

Nordstrom wants to engage with its customers through Instagram and make it easier for them to shop.

The retailer became the first company to launch the Like2Buy platform, which is designed to enable a more seamless shopping experience for customers on Instagram

Here’s how it works: When a customer sees a photo posted on Nordstrom’s Instagram feed that they’re interested in purchasing or learning more about, they simply click on the Nordstrom profile name and then click the link on the Nordstrom profile page. Next, the customer sees a gallery of all the featured products and can select an item and go directly to Nordstrom.com to complete the purchase. Customers can also use the “My Likes” function in the gallery to curate items they love for future inspiration or to purchase at another time.

Bryan Galipeau, Nordstrom’s social media director, participated in a Q&A with Loyalty360 to discuss the company’s engaging use of Instagram and the Like2Buy platform.

What prompted Nordstrom to use Instagram more prominently in its shopper experience?              

We first started using Instagram in 2012 as a way for us to connect with our customers by sharing images we hope they find inspirational, beautiful, and fun. As our following grew, currently we have over 540,000 followers, and we posted images of a great handbag or cool pair of shoes, customers would without fail ask the same questions: “Where can I buy this?”, “Do you still carry this?” “How much does it cost?”

Our goal is to create as seamless an experience for our customers whenever we can, no matter how they choose to shop with Nordstrom. We’ve experimented over the last couple months with our own way to help customers find the items we feature, like an Instagram landing page on Nordstrom.com/Instagram that has all the items we’ve featured; but it was still not easy for the customer. The focus for Instagram, as it is with all of our social platforms, is to engage with our customers directly and create an experience they value.

What are the goals for Like2Buy and how will it impact the customer experience?

Our primary goal for social media is to engage with our customers as seamlessly as possible and Like2Buy eliminates a barrier for the customer that’s interested in buying or doing more research on a specific item. We believe it improves the customer experience by allowing the customer to look at an item, save items that inspire, or to even purchase the item on their terms.

Did customer feedback play a role in this launch, and if so, in what way?

The customer is leading us, we’re not leading them, and Nordstrom is always listening to and looking for our customer to guide us to where they want to be. Every post we received hundreds of questions about the product and its availability. It was clear to us they desired an easier, faster and more convenient way to find and purchase items we featured on Instagram. This is a direct outcome of us listening to the customer.

When did this actually launch and what has been the early reception?

We launched on July 26th and the early reaction is very favorable.

What is it about Instagram that made Nordstrom want to pursue this shopping avenue?

We are in a visual industry and have the opportunity to share beautiful images that inspire our customers and Instagram is a wonderful way to connect directly with our customers using those images. 

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