Instagram Shopping in 2024

If you spend any time on Instagram then you know that shoppable content is everywhere on the platform. With features like Instagram stories, reels and shoppable posts, brands big and small are seeing a steady uptick in brand awareness and sales. There’s good reason for that. Let’s take a look at some numbers:

In 2022, it was reported that Instagram sees an average of 2 billion users a month globally. Of those monthly users, 44% report using the platform for shopping on a weekly basis.

Shoppable content makes it easy for users to make online purchases without leaving the app. This side-steps the added friction of “context switching”—having to open a separate app or webpage to complete a task.

Still not sure if Instagram Shopping is right for your brand? Let’s go over what shoppable content is and how brands benefit from using it in their social media marketing strategy.

What is shoppable content?

Beyond simply posting product images and videos to your feed, shoppable content is content embedded with product tags that contain links to the product page in your e-commerce store. You can use product tags in posts, reels and stories, and they have the added bonus of making sure your content is featured on Instagram’s Shopping Tab.

Your shoppable content will be displayed right in users’ feeds alongside native content, making them more likely to interact with your shop and make purchases.

What are the benefits of Instagram’s shoppable content?

Adding shoppable content to your social media posting roster will boost your brand’s visibility, as well as help you hit your sales and marketing KPIs. Below is a breakdown of some of the biggest benefits to creating shoppable content.

Increased product discoverability

Hands down the best way to generate visibility for your product offering is with shoppable content. As many as 70% of shoppers turn to Instagram for product discovery. This means that shoppable content will get your products in front of a massive audience without any of them ever having to leave their app to see your offerings.

Seamless shopping experience

One of the biggest factors for success in e-commerce is reducing friction in the shopping experience. And probably the most noticeable friction point with social media commerce is expecting users to exit their apps to make a purchase on an external website. Instagram Shopping streamlines the purchasing process by enabling users to make purchases with a few taps. The convenience of not being redirected out of their apps leads to high conversion rates.

Visual marketing advantage

The highly visual and curated nature of Instagram means that your slick product photos and videos won’t look out of place or over produced compared to the platform’s native content. This allows you more freedom and creativity to showcase your products in ways that engage consumers.

Access to a larger user base

Instagram has a massive user base. The most recent numbers put the platform at 2 billion monthly users. This means your brand will be exposed to a much larger pool of potential customers. This is a boon for small and medium-sized enterprises that might otherwise struggle to gain visibility on traditional e-commerce platforms.

More opportunity for customer engagement

In marketing, social media represents the unprecedented opportunity to have two-way conversations with consumers. This has redefined the concept of brand loyalty. Shoppable content is effectively social posts that function as ads, with the added bonus of comment sections, direct messaging, polls and more to provide your consumers the ability to talk to you. This is what allows you to foster meaningful relationships with consumers in ways that used to be next to impossible.

Cost-effectiveness

That Instagram Shopping has relatively low overhead is one of the more appealing benefits. You can use organic posts, user-generated content and influencer partnerships to promote your products without running up your advertising costs. The high ROI on shoppable content means spending on Instagram Shopping Ads is money well spent.

Integration with e-commerce platforms

With Instagram Shopping, you have easy integration with e-commerce platforms like Shopify, which not only simplifies inventory management but helps you streamline your sales across channels. This lets you more effectively manage your brand’s online presence.

Continuous innovation

As Meta continues to refine and expand Instagram Shopping features, you’ll continue to see greater ROI on your shoppable content. There are always new features coming down the pike, which makes it important to stay up to date on the latest news and trends on the platform.

The future of shoppable content—Instagram Shop

While this feature is currently only available to businesses located in the US, it’s worth keeping an eye on. Instagram Shop is the platform’s own marketplace. By creating an Instagram shop, you have access to checkout on Instagram.

Beyond simply allowing integration with e-commerce platforms, Instagram Checkout processes sales directly through the platform. That’s why it’s only currently available to certain markets, and notably only for select product categories that meet their terms of use and community guidelines.

What’s the takeaway?

Instagram is THE platform for product discovery. It’s where consumers go to find new brands and products, and with shoppable content they can make purchases directly, too. Unlike many e-commerce platforms, Instagram is one of the most used social media platforms with a massive user base. This has the potential to greatly expand your reach—and best of all, it doesn’t take a big budget to make the most out of Instagram’s shopping features.

Shoppable Content is Where it’s at—Instagram Shopping in 2024

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