Social media platforms can have a tough time when it comes to actually making money from the millions of people who use them. And embracing safe shopping online is an increasingly popular option for some of the biggest sites and apps at the moment.

The latest company to offer e-commerce features to its users is Snapchat, according to Business Insider. While the initial capabilities of its shopping service are fairly limited, they point towards greater ambitions for the future.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the only items that are available to buy from within the app itself are branded products that allow the Snapchat faithful to express their love of the company in public. But now that this service is in place, there is no reason why it will not expand to encompass other things further down the line.

In fact, there has been a sequential roll-out of more products over the last few days, with more on the way. Since the company continues to make a loss in spite of its massive market valuation, shopping online could be its lifeline.

Selling higher value gadgets direct to customers will help, as it already has sunglasses with built-in video recording capabilities on offer and it could take this further to generate yet more sales revenue.

Analysts also expect that it will work with third party firms to sell different products and services, as well as publishing their own content for a fee to engage with global audiences.

Appealing to high-flying influencers could become a key strategy, enabling social media stars to monetise their involvement with Snapchat as a platform, sell products to their fans and help the app to grow.

It is still early days for Snapchat’s e-commerce efforts, but it is never a good idea to underestimate a company of this size.