How to Launch Your Own Shop on Instagram

Instagram as a shopping platform can really benefit your brand or business, with the potential for loads of engagement via Instagram Lives and shoppable items. Over 45 million people (U.S.) are projected to have made a purchase directly on Instagram by the end of 2024, which means nearly 35% of all Instagram users shop on Instagram - and 90% of Instagram users follow at least one business. Can’t argue with those numbers!

From home decor to foodie treats, print-on-demand apparel to wall art, videogaming accessories to beauty products and jewelry, listing shoppable items on Instagram can really extend your customer reach. Whether you use Instagram as an extension of your existing IRL store, or as a standalone ecommerce shop, it’s such an effective way to get more eyes on your merch and keep your products relevant. 

You’ll create your shop in Instagram’s Commerce Manager, which is a tool to manage your product inventory and keep track of your sales. In your Instagram Shop, potential customers can browse your products, explore your Product Collections, and be redirected through your link(s) to purchase. You can also apply to get approved for Instagram Checkout, which lets customers purchase directly in the Instagram app without going anywhere else (if you’re a U.S. Business or Creator account.) 

And your customers can shop from anywhere in the U.S. - you’re not limited to the people who might happen to stop by your neighborhood shop, you can welcome in guests from across the country. Ready to follow our step by step guide to getting your Instagram Shop up and running?

How to Start Your Instagram Shop

First things first: to start an Instagram Shop, you’ll need to convert your account to an Instagram pro account (unless you’ve already done this.) Make sure you meet the other Instagram requirements to get approved for Instagram Shopping.

These include Instagram policy compliance; providing your correct information as an Instagram user (edit your profile if needed, to make sure all of the correct info is there); and being located in a supported market/country. From there, you’ll choose a Creator or Business profile; this allows you to utilize Instagram ads and analytics, and let you create a shop. 

Then, you can choose to set up a shop right in Meta (through which you can actually sell items on both Facebook and Instagram if you choose), or import items to your catalog using Commerce Manager. Commerce Manager lets you bring products in to your Instagram Shop from many other partner platforms, including Fourthwall, Shopify, BigCommerce, Shift4Shop, OpenCart, and many more, as long as your platform of choice meets catalog eligibility requirements for Instagram Shops. (If you can’t locate your partner platform, you can contact Instagram’s Help Center for assistance.)

Next Steps!

Now we’ll learn how to connect your shop app to Instagram, if you’re bringing your products over to Instagram from another ecommerce platform. You’ll sync both accounts, and you can then view the latest synced products in your Commerce Manager under Catalog > Data Sources, or in the “Items” tab. Products and product details that you add or update in your partner platform will automatically sync to your catalog of products in Commerce Manager for the ultimate in shop management convenience!

If you’re starting right in Instagram itself, the steps to set that up are a little different - you can work on your new Instagram Shop right within the app. You’ll use Meta Commerce Manager, uploading each product one at a time, and adding product details as above.

Create Your Product Catalog

For each product you’re uploading via Meta to your Instagram Shop, you’ll want a photo (recommended size is 1024 x 1024 pixels), a product description/product details, a product number/SKU, and your chosen price for the product. Your complete inventory should also include details like size and color variants and total items you have available for each product.

Once your products are uploaded and your account is ready to go (there’s one more step to that, which we’ll get to in a moment), you can start featuring your products for sale in your Instagram shop using Commerce Manager.

Get Approved

Now that you’ve completed the above steps, you’ll need to submit your account for review to Instagram. This is to make sure you’re complying with Instagram’s commerce policies, and that your new Instagram shop is good to go! Your shopping features will be enabled as soon as you’re approved; at that point, you can also apply for Instagram Checkout if you meet the extended criteria.

Tag, You’re It!

Now you’re ready to create some shopping posts! And you’ll definitely want to use this next Instagram shopping feature. Add product tags to items in your Instagram posts to enhance discoverability and help create an easier shopping experience for your Insta followers (tags link to your product pages.) To tag products right in your posts, create your initial post, and then tap “Next” in iOS, or the arrow in Android.

Tap “Tag Products,” and then tap the products in your photo or video that you want to add tags for. Search for the products you’re choosing to tag, and select them as they pop up in the search box; then tap the “Done” button in iOS, or the checkmark in Android.

Show Off Your Shop

You’ve got your Instagram Shop all ready to go, so now it’s time to show it off! Think of your Instagram storefront in a similar way to how you might think of an actual brick and mortar store - yes, you’re selling on Instagram, but a lot of the same strategies and business practices apply as they would to an IRL store, from creating interesting merch to displaying it, pricing it, and providing excellent customer service.

You’ll want to share your brand story, make it easy for people to browse and buy your products, get to know your customers, and keep up interest in your Instagram Shop with posts highlighting your merch, plus holding special events and sales.

Give ‘Em Something to Look At

Utilizing posts and Instagram Stories and Instagram Reels gives you so many ways to draw people in to see your merchandise! Get experimental with your posts and videos, showcasing your merch in interesting ways, making great use of lighting and color, and collaborating with other Instagram Shops and fellow content creators when appropriate. By 2025, Instagram is expected to have nearly 1.5 billion active users, so, uh, yeah… you’ve got some competition!

With that in mind, also be sure to make good use of hashtags, driving people toward each of your products from all possible angles. Engage with your customers by replying to comments, answering questions, and thanking people for their purchases with bonuses like coupons or early notifications of special sales.

And don’t forget to dig into your on-board analytics (Instagram Insights.) These will help you determine which posts and products are doing the best, so you can optimize them for even better results as your Instagram shop grows!

Ready to create your store on Instagram? Follow the steps above, and rely on Instagram’s integrated shopping tools, from tags and collections to their in-app checkout system - they’ll help position your Instagram Shop for Huge Success!