Shopping on Instagram - tag your best products to increase sales
Short answer: Instagram shopping features can connect eligible posts and Reels to products in a catalogue. Availability depends on the account, market and Meta’s current commerce rules. UAE retailers should check Commerce Manager first, then make sure every tag leads to the correct product, price and delivery information.
Product tags can reduce the number of steps between seeing an item and opening its product page. They work best when the catalogue is accurate, the creative shows the product clearly and the website completes the sale without surprises.
How to set up Instagram Shopping
- Use an eligible professional account and complete the business information.
- Connect the account to the Meta business assets it requires.
- Create a product catalogue in Commerce Manager, or link a Shopify or WooCommerce store.
- Check Commerce Manager for eligibility, market availability and any review step shown.
- If product tagging is available, test the item name, price, image and destination before publishing.
Do not promise an approval time or a Shop tab before the account passes Meta’s checks. If you run ads too, see our full guide to how to advertise on Instagram.
You can make the organic posts shoppable by tagging a product on Instagram, in the same fashion as tagging a person in a photo. Let’s have a look at how it works.
How to create a shoppable Instagram feed!
Instagram Shopping is now allowing us to tag products in our Instagram posts, where users actually click on the post and redirect to the website where they can actually buy the product. It’s not yet available in UAE directly.
When someone taps a product tag on your post or a product sticker in your story, they’ll be taken to a product description page where they will see:
- An image of the product from your post
- A description of the product
- How much the product cost
- A link that takes them directly to your website, where they can purchase the product
Here are some of our examples of what a shopping post and story look like on Instagram
If your Instagram business account is not available in the market, you may
lose the ability to tag products. Below is the list. If your Instagram
business account is listed below and follows the below requirements, you can
be reviewed and approved for shopping ads.
Instagram Shops
A customizable storefront allowing people to shop directly on business profile pages. An in-app shopping destination where people can discover products and brands they love from across Instagram. This feature is still rolling out in UAE
Instagram Shopping tags
Shopping Tags allow businesses to highlight products from their catalog in Stories and in-feed, so people can learn more.
Instagram collections
Allow businesses to customize their shop with an editorial point-of-view by curating products into themes.
Instagram product detail page
A product-focused page that showcases all relevant information on an item, including pricing, rich descriptions, and media.
Instagram Shopping ads
Businesses can reach audiences at scale by boosting existing Shopping Posts in Ads Manager. Shopping ads are able to drive to an owned website or native checkout on Instagram. Checkout on Instagram is currently not available in the UAE.
Checkout on Instagram
Checkout on Instagram allows all eligible businesses and creators in the U.S. to sell their products directly on Instagram. People can purchase products that they discover and check out securely using Facebook Pay, without leaving the app. Businesses that do not use the checkout on Instagram can still use other shopping tools that drive offsite to complete the purchase.
Instagram Shopping from creators
Makes it possible for people to shop inspiring looks from the creators they love without leaving Instagram. Currently available to check out businesses. and this is still in beta.
Instagram product launches
A way for businesses to announce an upcoming product launch on Instagram so people can preview details and set reminders to buy as soon as it’s available. Currently available to check out businesses.
Instagram Live shopping
Unlocks a new channel for checkout-enabled businesses to sell products through their Instagram Live and form deeper connections with people in real-time. Still yet to come to UAE
| All Eligible Businesses | Managed Clients | |
|---|---|---|
| NA | Canada, United States | |
| LATAM | Argentina, Belize, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, French Guyana, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Martinique, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Puerto Rico, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay | Colombia |
| EMEA | Algeria, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Egypt, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mayotte, Morocco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Reunion, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom | Israel, Turkey, United Arab Emirates |
| APAC | Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, Korea, Philippines, New Zealand, Singapore | India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand |
For use shopping on Instagram, your Instagram account and business must fulfill the following requirements:
- Comply with Commerce Product Merchant Agreement and commerce policies. Your business comply with merchant agreement and commerce policies
- You must have an Instagram business account. If not then convert your Instagram account to a Business account
- Your Instagram business profile must be connected to a Facebook Page. Facebook Pages with the Message to buy payment option will need to delete and create a new Shop with another payment option before they can use shopping on Instagram. Please note that country or age restrictions on your Facebook Page will not carry over to your Instagram account.
- Have your business account connected to a Facebook Catalog. Your business account must be connected to a Facebook catalog. This can be created and managed on Catalog Manager or Business Manager on Facebook, or through Shopify or BigCommerce platforms.
Once you fulfill the above requirements, You can submit your account for review. Go to your profile’s settings, tap Business, and tap Shopping on Instagram. Follow the steps to make sure everything is all good to go and submit your account for review. Usually, the process takes a few days, but sometimes it can take longer.
If you’ve been approved, you will receive notifications from Instagram and complete set-up for Instagram Shopping in Settings to start tagging products in your posts and stories. You can visit Shopping in Settings at any time to check your review status.
Know all about your online eCommerce websites
Ecommerce Marketing to improve sales
Talk to us for Instagram Shopping. Leads Dubai is a Social Media Marketing Company. Check out our Instagram ads and Facebook Advertising services. We can assist you with shopping ads which can help with e-commerce sales.
