In the last couple of years, Instagram has pushed online shopping hard in the app. A scroll on the app meant that someone was always selling something or the other. From shoes to phone accessories and clothes to food, Instagram shopping has become quite a thing. However, it looks like the Meta-owned app is shifting its focus from shopping. In a blog post, Instagram announced that some changes are coming users’ way very soon.
“Starting in February, we are changing Instagram’s navigation to make it easier for people to share and connect with their friends and interests,” said Instagram in the blog post.

What’s changing for users

The navigation bar at the bottom of the app will now have the shortcut for creating content “+” in the centre and the Reels tab to the right. As part of this change, the Instagram Shop tab will be removed. It’s not as if those who have set up shop on Instagram won’t be able to sell. “You will still be able to set up and run your shop on Instagram as we continue to invest in shopping experiences that provide the most value for people and businesses across the feed, stories, reels, ads and more,” said Instagram in the blog post.
Why the change
An earlier report by The Information suggested that Instagram was looking to cut down on its shopping features. The main reason was that the company wanted to focus on its advertising business — the bread and butter for Meta — rather than its e-commerce business.
Instagram first announced shopping features in 2018. And during the pandemic, Instagram introduced more features for businesses to lure more shoppers. Meta as a company has had a rather testing 2022 with loss of revenue, employees and some more.