How do you set up Instagram Shopping and create an Instagram store?

With Instagram Shopping, you can sell your products directly through an Instagram Business or Creator account. To set it up, your Instagram account must be linked to a Facebook Page within a Meta account, and a product catalog must be created in the Meta Commerce Manager. Your Instagram store and its product catalogs are then managed through the Commerce Manager.

What is Instagram Shopping?

Instagram Shopping is a free Meta feature that lets you showcase and sell your products directly on Instagram. At its core, it’s a native shop in­te­gra­tion in which products are displayed directly in your Instagram profile as well as in posts, Reels, and Instagram Stories via product tags and stickers.

Setup is completed by linking your Instagram account to a Facebook Page within a Meta account and creating a product catalog in the Meta Commerce Manager. There, you can centrally manage product images, de­scrip­tions, prices and links. In most cases, purchases are processed through your online store’s checkout. The avail­abil­i­ty of native checkout features depends on the country and your store con­fig­u­ra­tion and may change over time.

Instagram Shopping therefore plays a central role in social commerce and com­ple­ments strate­gies such as social selling and in­flu­encer marketing, as products can be dis­cov­ered and purchased directly within the usage context.

How much does Instagram Shopping cost?

Use and setup of Instagram’s Shopping feature are generally free of charge. Costs only arise, for example, if you run ads that direct potential customers to your store. Trans­ac­tion fees depend on the checkout system you use and should be reviewed in Meta’s current payment terms.

In the rel­a­tive­ly rare cases where the in-app checkout is used, Meta retains platform and payment pro­cess­ing fees, which can be viewed in the financial reports within the Commerce Manager. Charge­back or payment fees also apply only to sales processed directly through Instagram.

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How to enable Instagram Shopping

Follow these steps to create your own Instagram store and increase the vis­i­bil­i­ty of your products.

Step 1: Check re­quire­ments for merchant el­i­gi­bil­i­ty

Before setting up your Instagram store, review Facebook’s or Meta’s el­i­gi­bil­i­ty criteria. The following re­quire­ments must be met:

1. Make sure you comply with Meta’s policies and commerce guide­lines.
2. Your Instagram store may only feature physical products (not services) that are directly linked to your business and your own website or online store.
3. Both your products and your business location must be based in a market supported by Facebook.
4. Your Instagram Business account and online store should be trust­wor­thy, trans­par­ent and designed with customers in mind.

Step 2: Set up Meta Business Manager

Meta Business Manager is Meta’s central man­age­ment platform for busi­ness­es. It’s required to use Instagram Shopping, Commerce Manager, ad accounts, and access per­mis­sions pro­fes­sion­al­ly.

1. Open the Meta Business Suite in your browser.
2. Log in with your Facebook account.
3. If you don’t yet have a business account, follow the prompts to create a business portfolio and enter your company details.
4. Go to “Settings” and open “Business settings”.
5. Under “Accounts → Pages”, click “Add” and select “Create a New Page.”

Step 3: Create an Instagram business account

If your Instagram account is not yet a Pro­fes­sion­al account, you first need to switch account types and connect it to a Facebook Page.

Step 1: Go to your profile, tap the three-line menu icon and select “Settings and activity” or “Settings and privacy”, depending on the app version.

Step 2: Scroll to “Account type and tools” and tap “Switch to pro­fes­sion­al account.”

Step 3: Choose a Business account, select the ap­pro­pri­ate category and confirm your contact details.

Step 4: Connect your Instagram account to a Facebook Page by following the prompts during setup or by going to “Account type and tools” and selecting “Connect to Facebook Page.”

Step 4: On­board­ing and setting up Instagram Shopping

Begin setting up your Instagram store in Commerce Manager, or import it from your existing store platform through Facebook. This allows your product listings, including all relevant details, to sync au­to­mat­i­cal­ly with your Instagram store. The following e-commerce platforms, among others, support product imports:

1. Shopify
2. WooCom­merce
3. Magento
4. Big­Com­merce
5. Com­merce­Hub
6. Fee­do­nom­ics
7. OpenCart

You can check the Meta Business Partner Directory to see which partner platforms are currently supported. In Commerce Manager, you’ll select the preferred checkout method for com­plet­ing sales and choose your sales channel. Then, you can decide whether your store will be used ex­clu­sive­ly for Instagram or also for Facebook. Afterward, you can either link an existing product catalog to your store or create a new catalog by adding products with their prices and de­scrip­tions.

Before Instagram approves your store and product tags for Instagram Shopping, Meta typically requires ver­i­fi­ca­tion of your website domain. This step confirms that you are the legal owner of the domain linked to your product details and checkout links. Without domain ver­i­fi­ca­tion, Meta may delay or reject the store setup process.

Step 5: Activate the store and have it reviewed by Instagram

Once your store and product catalog are set up in Commerce Manager and connected to your pro­fes­sion­al Instagram account, you can submit your account for review. Approval typically takes a few days, and you can check the review status at any time in Commerce Manager. After approval, you’ll be able to tag products in Instagram posts using the “Tag Products” option and add product stickers in Stories and other eligible formats.

Data privacy when using an Instagram store

When selling through Instagram Shopping and Facebook in the United States, busi­ness­es must comply with ap­plic­a­ble federal and state privacy laws as well as Meta’s platform re­quire­ments. Unlike the EU, there is no single com­pre­hen­sive federal privacy law. Instead, reg­u­la­tions such as the Cal­i­for­nia Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA) and other state privacy laws apply when personal data is collected or processed.

This includes sit­u­a­tions such as tracking user in­ter­ac­tions, redi­rect­ing users to an online store, or using tools like Meta Pixel and the Con­ver­sions API. Busi­ness­es must provide a clear and ac­ces­si­ble Privacy Policy ex­plain­ing what data is collected, how it is used, and whether it is shared with third parties.

Depending on the state and the type of data pro­cess­ing involved, companies may also need to:

• Provide consumers with the right to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal data
• Offer rights of access, cor­rec­tion, or deletion

Failure to comply with ap­plic­a­ble privacy laws may result in reg­u­la­to­ry en­force­ment actions or platform re­stric­tions.

Consumer pro­tec­tion and ad­ver­tis­ing trans­paren­cy

In addition to privacy re­quire­ments, U.S. busi­ness­es must comply with federal and state consumer pro­tec­tion laws. The Federal Trade Com­mis­sion (FTC) prohibits deceptive or mis­lead­ing ad­ver­tis­ing and requires trans­par­ent pricing and clear dis­clo­sure of sponsored or pro­mo­tion­al content.

Companies must ensure that product in­for­ma­tion, prices, seller details, and ad­ver­tis­ing content are presented clearly and ac­cu­rate­ly. Mis­lead­ing claims, hidden fees, or unclear labeling may result in reg­u­la­to­ry action or platform sanctions.

4 tips for using Instagram Shopping ef­fec­tive­ly

Instagram Shopping doesn’t work ef­fec­tive­ly on its own. To attract new Instagram followers and convert them into customers, it should be supported by ad­di­tion­al marketing measures. These include op­ti­miz­ing your Instagram bio, running targeted Instagram ads, and mon­i­tor­ing per­for­mance with pro­fes­sion­al tools for Instagram analytics.

Use the following tips to get the most out of Instagram Shopping.

Tip 1: Maintain a con­sis­tent style

Whether you sell hardware, fashion, or art, tailor shopping stickers and your shopping feed to your style, your brand, and your business profile. Be trans­par­ent and address your target audience pro­fes­sion­al­ly, for example with tes­ti­mo­ni­als, reviews, or a detailed value-for-money breakdown.

Tip 2: Use Instagram ads

Instagram ads can now be linked directly to product tags from your Instagram store. This lets you tag products in feed, story, or reel ads and guide users straight to the relevant items. Shopping ads are es­pe­cial­ly effective for building reach, targeting new audiences, and driving purchase intent.

Tip 3: Use captions to work with the algorithm

The Instagram algorithm pays attention to how many users read captions and which hashtags perform well. Optimized captions also improve your profile’s ranking and vis­i­bil­i­ty on Instagram’s Explore page. Use helpful, ex­plana­to­ry, or in­ter­est­ing captions for posts in your shopping feed and include hashtags.

Tip 4: Use high-quality images and designs

Un­for­tu­nate­ly, many users au­to­mat­i­cal­ly perceive shopping posts as ads and may simply scroll past them. To capture attention, use high-quality product images and maintain a con­sis­tent visual identity for your store. At the same time, ensure that labels, product names, and prices are accurate and error-free.