Instagram's Checkout feature lets you buy in-app

Buying products on Instagram just got easier. The social platform officially unveiled CHECKOUT, a new feature designed to allow businesses to sell products directly to customers without ever leaving the app. In a blog post, Instagram described the process as quote, simple, convenient and secure, unquote. It also mentions over a hundred and thirty million people tap on product tags in shopping posts. So, this move seems like a natural one for the platform. Instagram is full of brands and businesses hoping to make impulse shopping even easier for us users since the current design can take too many steps to finish buying a product. If a product is eligible for checkout, there will be a checkout Instagram button for customers to add relevant information. Your payment info will be stored so you don't have to keep entering it over and over for different companies and you'll be able to pay with PayPal, Visa, MasterCard, Amex or Discover. No word yet on Apple or Google pay but hopefully those will show up if the program proves successful Instagram will take a cut of sales of course, but isn't sharing what that fee is just yet, saying they're still testing with a small number of businesses in a closed beta. So, who's got CHECKOUT available? Over 20 brands are part of the pilot program, including Nike, Warby Parker, Uniqlo and of course Kylie Cosmetics. The initial launch is solely for Instagram's iOS and Android apps, so there is no desktop functionality yet. But the company also says checkout is just one piece of it's commerce puzzle, and will be rolling out additional ways for users to spend their money later on Instagram this year As always, we'll be keeping an eye on Instagram's newest features here at CNET.com. I'm Ashley Esqueda, [UNKNOWN]