11 Must-Know Instagram Shopping Insights for 2025

Instagram has transformed from a site where users can upload beautiful images to a fully functional shopping channel. Users can discover new products, compare products, and purchase products in just a few taps.

Brands ranging from small to large can find shopping on Instagram to be overwhelming and confusing. Fortunately, for brands with limited budgets, you can succeed without a large budget. These 11 actionable Instagram Shopping insights will teach you how to optimize your product view, save, and sales based on how people are currently using Instagram to shop today.

Instagram Shopping is More Important Than Ever in 2025

In the past, Instagram was primarily used as a photo gallery, and users would only click the link in the biography of a brand’s page and leave Instagram to purchase products from the brand’s website. Therefore, the friction associated with having to leave Instagram to purchase a product contributed to the high number of lost sales.

In 2025, the behavior of social commerce will be an integral part of how users interact with Instagram. Social commerce will be something that is integrated into how users scroll through their feeds. As a result, shoppers will no longer have to leave Instagram to purchase products from the brands they are interested in. In many areas, Instagram enables users to purchase products without leaving Instagram, which means they can discover, compare, and buy products without switching between applications. This is made possible through Instagram Shops, product tags, and in-app checkouts.

Product discovery through Instagram is different from what it was in the past. Instagram has added Reels, suggested posts, and Discovery features to provide exposure to many more users outside of a brand’s current followers, allowing one’s star product video to reach thousands upon thousands of shoppers. If your catalog is set up correctly and your content points to your products, Instagram will serve as both a search and a shopping platform.

Social shopping is now part of daily scrolling

When you open Instagram, you may swipe on a few stories, find a couple of reels that pique your interest, and check your feed for posts or photos of your favorite influencers or brands. Along the way, you will notice some products that catch your interest.

A user watches a reel where someone is styling a jacket. They hit the product tag for that 

jacket and view some additional photos of the jacket in various colors. If they decide that they want to purchase the jacket, they can easily do that from within the app without ever having to exit the app. If they are not quite ready to purchase yet, they will add the jacket to their Saved or Wish List for future reference.

Social shopping works really well because it takes advantage of a combination of habitual behaviour and convenience. You’re not sending people off to a completely different website to look for a product; you’re giving them access to products while they’re engaged in the actual activity of scrolling through their social media feeds, something they are already doing on a daily basis.

How Instagram Shopping Fits into the Small Business Sales Funnel

Instagram Shopping is an effective tool at every stage of the sales funnel for small and medium-sized businesses. The discovery stage is an opportunity for people who have never heard of your business to discover your brand through both Reels and Explore. The clear and brief description of your products provided in the video is essential to helping customers identify who your company is.

The consideration stage allows potential customers to compare the colours and styles of your product and see how other consumers have used them using the shopping tab and shopping guides. Customers can also save posts, share posts, and read comments made by actual customers who have used your products.

The purchase stage is simplified with product pages and an in-app checkout process. Customers can view the price, shipping information, and customer reviews all in one spot on the Instagram app. After reviewing this information, the customer can ‘shop’ directly from Instagram or click through to your website. The seamless brand experience from discovery to purchase is what gives content the ability to generate revenue.

With the right customers and followers from Planyourgram.com, brands can strengthen each step of the funnel and ensure their content reaches people who are most likely to purchase.

11 Essential Instagram Shopping Insights for 2025

Insight 1: Product Tags on Reels Generate More Clicks Than Static Posts

Instagram is heavily focused on video, which means that Reels containing product tags will typically reach a wider audience than images do and generally receive more taps to the product page.

Be sure to show the product in action, add clear messaging like “Tap to Shop,” and ensure that product tags are placed as close as possible to the item rather than hidden away in the corner. 

In addition, you should try to get your key selling point across within the first few seconds of the video because most people make up their mind about whether they are going to watch the entire video or not right away.

Insight 2: By Utilizing In-App Checkout, You Are Reducing Drop-Off And Increasing Impulse Purchases

The truth is that every single extra step between “I want that” and “I’ve placed my order” is an additional opportunity for shoppers to lose interest or forget what they were interested in. And for a lot of customers, in-app checkout allows them to skip those extra steps because their payment information is saved in Instagram. 

Both trust factors need to be met within the product page to give the customer confidence to purchase the product, so you can accomplish this by using great images, providing social proof and displaying delivery and return information clearly and concisely.

Insight 3: Short Videos Outperform Professional Photographs of Products

While professional images are nice to have, they create a certain separation from the customer. In 2025, the majority of customers will engage with, save, and tap on products as a result of viewing an authentic, real-life video of the product, versus a highly polished studio image.

When producing product videos, you should keep each clip under 30 seconds. Try doing simple things like using a mirror for a try-on, placing your item on your desk, or creating a simple tutorial video demonstrating how to use your product. Each of those types of videos should focus on close-ups of details, textures, and results rather than wide shot aesthetic images of the product.

Insight 4: User-generated content builds trust and lifts conversion

Using UGC to their advantage provides more trust than advertising only the product itself through UGC (user-generated content) in ad campaigns on Instagram.

Encourage your customers to tag you and use your specific hashtag when posting to create UGC to share back on your Instagram account and/or product pages within Shops. 

Examples would include Images, Videos, and Reviews of the Products tagged and shared from customers. This practice is particularly effective for Clothing and Accessories, Beauty and Personal Care Products, Home and Garden Items, and Hobby-Related Goods.

Insight 5: Instagram drops and limited runs push quick action

The “Limited-Time Offers and Drops” campaign creates a stronger sense of urgency to buy. Consumers will be notified through the launch dates and times, along with the limited quantities available at launch time, about the promotional offer, and will want to take advantage of the offer as soon as it becomes available. 

Use the Drops feature to organize and set reminders for the scheduled launch times, creating excitement for the audience. Use Instagram Stories and Reels to build hype for your upcoming launches, tag products as they are added to your catalog, and remind your audience about the launch times now through the use of both images and audio messaging so that they have every opportunity to take advantage of the promotions.

Insight 6: Product catalog health affects reach and search

The overall health of your Instagram Product Catalog has an impact on how your customers will discover your products on Instagram. A disorganized and cluttered product catalog will not help your efforts to be seen. Instagram relies on having clean product data to determine what you are selling and how to present your products to customers through search results and recommendations.

Create product titles that clearly define what type of product it is and its key features. For example: “Linen Wide Leg Pants – Tan – Summer Workwear.” Correct any broken links to products, use new images for items, remove sold-out products, and routinely check and update product prices, sizes, and inventory levels to ensure that you do not direct your audience to an empty web page after they click through to purchase a product.

Insight 7: SEO style captions and alt text help your products get found

The use of SEO Style Captions and Alt Tags allows consumers to discover your products on their social media.

Instagram now serves as a mini search engine, and search results return based on your captions and alt tags. For example, if someone types “pink yoga set” or “desk lamp for small rooms” into the Instagram search, and you have used SEO style captions and alt tags, your product will show up in their search results.

When creating your captions, use phrases that feel natural to your brand and to the consumers that purchase your product. Use descriptive alt tags when applicable, for example: “black leather crossbody bag, travel, silver hardware”. Do not create captions or alt tags with excessive or repetitive keywords; write as if you are speaking to someone in real life.

Insight 8: Product Guides turn your feed into a simple shopping catalog

Create Product Guides to make browsing your feed easier for consumers

Instagram Product Guides are lists of posts and products grouped together by category for easy browsing and exploration. They allow for an easy-to-browse list of products that are similar and would likely be purchased together, much like gift guides.

For instance, you could create guides for Top Sellers, Gifts Under $50, New for Fall, First Timer’s Kits, etc. Instagram Product Guides can be shared via Instagram Stories and saved to your profile as a highlight. They can also be used to direct new customers to your Profile and allow them to see curated collections of products at their convenience.

Insight 9: Live shopping and Q&A sessions shorten the path to purchase

By using Live Shopping and having a Q&A style event, you create a sense of Urgency and Trust. Live video adds urgency and builds trust simultaneously. With the use of Live Shopping, you are able to showcase your products, tag them as they appear on the screen, and answer consumers’ questions in real-time. 

Examples of easy sessions to host are weekly product demos, product try-on hauls, or founder Q&A sessions. Any live session should be saved as a Replay for interested consumers to view after the session has ended, and product tags should remain active so late viewers will still be able to tap on and shop the products.

Insight 10: Creator and influencer tags help your products reach warm audiences

Using a creator or influencer tag will help customers find your products more easily and feel comfortable shopping in your store. Customers find creator posts to be more relatable than ads and are more likely to shop when they see creators posting about the products they recommend.

When working with micro-influencers who have audiences that fit your ideal customer profile, you want to provide them with links to your products, discount codes, and several key points (e.g., sizing, material, etc.) that you think are important. The micro-influencer can then use their own authentic voice to provide the content. 

Insight 11: Data from Insights and Shops reports should guide your content plan 

Use data from Instagram Insights and Shops reports to determine what type of content you create and post. Making guesses takes time and money, and by reviewing the data on shoppers and how your products convert to sales, you can develop a better content plan.

Track the metrics of your Instagram account, such as product views, taps on the product button, product adds to cart, product purchases, saved products, and shares of products. 

At the end of each month, review which products/conversions were the most popular and perform best on your Instagram account. Based on your analysis, you can determine what types of product posts/ideas worked well, when you posted them, and create a content plan for next month that is based on the data instead of creating a new plan from scratch.

Simple Action Plan to Apply These Instagram Shopping Insights

To implement the ideas/insights derived from Instagram Shopping, you do not have to apply all of them at once. You can implement these insights with a simple 30-day plan that uses these ideas/insights without overwhelming your staff.

Begin with the focus on your product catalog and a few strong post formats (e.g., Reels, product tags). As you get more comfortable and confident with these formats, start to implement additional product formats (e.g., Guides, User Generated Content (UGC), creators, etc.).Over the next 30 days, you will complete the following:

Week 1

Shop and catalogue cleaning: Correct titles, images, wrong links, and stock amounts. If applicable, enable in-app checkout on at least one of your core items.

Week 2

Post three reels with clear product tags. Experiment with the hook (or starting point) of your reel and the on-screen text. Produce a product guide, e.g., “Starter favorites” or “Gift ideas $40 or less.”

Week 3

Contact purchasers for tagged content (posts and/or videos) and reshare the best user-generated content (UGC) with product tags. Partner with a smaller influencer and/or run a simple live demo.

Week 4

Go to the Insights and Shops area of Instagram and review the data – which products/posts/time got the most interactions, which didn’t? Retire/stop producing any products that did not perform, and focus on the winners from this month in next month’s plan.

What to keep doing to maintain Instagram Shopping successfully over the long haul

Consistency over perfection is more important once the mechanisms are put in place. Continue posting tagged shoppable content at least 2-3 times per week. Update your seasonal photos and/or videos every season to maintain relevancy of the product distribution (ie, keep current, etc). 

Continue encouraging people to leave reviews and tagged content after delivery. Create a regular monthly opportunity to examine your reports (Insights, Shops) and clean/refresh your analyse of your catalogue as your business grows and account keeps moving forward.

Conclusion

In 2025, Instagram Shopping is not going to be just an afterthought; it is a legitimate selling opportunity. Brands and retailers who understand how customers move through the platform to find products and make purchases can successfully convert views into sales.

You don’t have to implement all eleven insights into your marketing strategy at once. This week, select two or three of the insights (e.g., reels with product tags & clean catalogue), test, and track results on an ongoing basis. Make sure to check back on your Insights data to identify which product you want to spotlight the next time around. Want to get an early jump? Review your last month’s posts and ask yourself, “How many of these made it easier for a customer to shop?” Fix whatever the answer is in the next post.