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September 15, 2021

BY: Instagram Business Team

San Francisco, CA

Update: The Instagram Shop tab is no longer available as of February 6, 2023.

Creating and maintaining a shop on Instagram for your business is an excellent way to reach new customers and drive discovery of your products. When selling products through your shop on Instagram, think of your feed as a store window. Similar to visual merchandising, you should look to keep your storefront fresh and updated to show off seasonal offerings and encourage sales.

44% of people surveyed use Instagram to shop weekly1, using features like product tags and Instagram’s Shop tab, and 28% of their shopping activities that happen on Instagram are planned2. That’s why it’s so important to get your shop ready and set your business up for sales during busy shopping seasons, like the holidays. Here’s how to get the most out of your shop on Instagram:

First things first: Set up a shop on Instagram!

If you haven’t already gotten your shop on Instagram up and running, what are you waiting for? This is a storefront on your business profile that allows you to tell your brand story and editorialize products. It’s a way for you to create a true shopping experience for your customers right at the point of discovery. Learn more about how to get started with Instagram Shopping.

Level up your product photography

Making your digital storefront stand out starts with strong photography. Eye-catching images and videos can be the difference between hooking a browser or a buyer. Not a professional photographer? Don’t sweat it! 40% of respondents are more likely to purchase from brands that post real, raw or unpolished content3. Watch the video below for suggestions about how to style products and props to stop potential customers while they’re scrolling.

Add your inventory through your catalog

Your catalog is the foundational tool for your shop on Instagram, holding all of the information about your products as well as powering your Product Detail Pages, or PDPs. Once you add items to your catalog, you can make all of your content easily shoppable for your audience.

How you set up your catalog determines the potential you have to reach new customers. Our top tips: Only use one catalog, make sure it has the most up-to-date inventory counts and products, and fill out all of the necessary fields, including rich product descriptions, pricing, website links and more.

Use product tags to make your content shoppable

The most successful businesses use product tags frequently and across different formats to drive product discovery wherever people are spending time on Instagram. Product tags allow you to highlight items from your product catalog into your posts so people can tap on a tag and immediately learn more. You can use them across your feed, stories, video, Reels and mentions, and even boost existing shopping posts to create Ads to reach a wider audience — perfect for promoting new products or your products relevant for the holiday shopping season. Watch the video below for a tutorial on how to tag products on Instagram to attract more customers.

Show off your products in detail

Product Detail Pages hold the keys to the kingdom of information on an item from your product catalog, including pricing, longer-from descriptions and relevant videos and images that are pulled from where the product is tagged on Instagram. Maximizing the quality of information on your PDPs can help you create an overall better shopping experience across your page and might even help customers find exactly what they’re looking for, both this holiday season and all year long.

Build collections for a curated experience

Collections allow you to categorize your products into different themes and groups like, for example, new arrivals to your catalog. Building a collection for a specific moment or event can also allow you to tell a deeper product story that will resonate with customers. During the holidays, collections are a great way to curate gift guides, whether you’re looking to entice customers based on personas, such as gifts for the bookworm, or a price point, such as stocking stuffers under $20. Watch how to build a collection from start to finish in the clip below.

Follow the steps above to get your shop on Instagram ready for sales this holiday season and beyond. Looking to learn more about Instagram Shopping? Read more about the latest best practices to make your shop a success.


BY: Instagram Business Team

San Francisco, CA