Instagram unveils new "Shop" tab

By

Marion Deslandes

Published
Nov 18, 2020

As it continues to develop its commercial services, Instagram has announced the launch of a new functionality being rolled out over the coming weeks. Now accessible directly from the app's home screen, the "Shop" tab is represented by the image of a shopping bag and leads straight to the Instagram Shop, a commercial space which was launched this summer and offers purchase suggestions in accordance with users' preferences. 

According to the Facebook-owned social network, the tab makes it easier to engage with creators and discover products, while also supporting small businesses. As well as personalized shopping suggestions, the Instagram Shop also features curated "editors' pick" product selections and shoppable videos. 

The "publish" and "notifications" tabs have also been moved from the main menu to the top right-hand corner of the Instagram home screen, making way for a second new tab that has been added to the renovated interface: "Reels". First introduced in summer 2020, this page presents TikTok-like videos from artists, creators and influencers, the objective being to provide them with a platform through which they can "share their creativity with the world and have a chance to break out and find an audience."

"We don’t take these changes lightly – we haven’t updated Instagram’s home screen in a big way for quite a while. But how people create and enjoy culture has changed, and the biggest risk to Instagram is not that we change too fast, but that we don’t change and become irrelevant," explained head of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, evidently conscious that, while pleasing brands, the changes to the app's interface are likely to be met by a certain amount of resistance from users.