Starting next month, users of Instagram will notice a new navigation bar on their home feed. The shopping option will no longer be present in Instagram’s main bar at the bottom of the screen, and the button to add a new post will shift to the bottom. The Shop tab will be replaced by the Reels tab, which is now prominently displayed on the navigation bar.
Instagram has disclosed that it aimed to “simplify [the] Instagram experience” for users when it started testing a main feed without a purchasing button back in September. The Information report claims that the test was actually a part of Instagram’s bigger pivot as the company pulls back its e-commerce features. However, the business claims that even without the obvious shortcut on the home feed, shopping would still be a feature of Instagram.
According to an article by the company, “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.”
In an effort to encourage users to make purchases within the Instagram app, the social media company has made investments in shopping tools. The Instagram purchasing page is currently filled with personalized product recommendations, although The Information report predicted it will go last fall. What will happen to the personalized shopping page following the redesign next month was left undisclosed by Instagram.
Meanwhile, the ‘Notes’ tool on Instagram was one of the new sharing features that Meta introduced last month. It was designed to make users feel more connected to the people they care about.
But in recent months, there has been a rise in criticism regarding how far Instagram has strayed from its initial purpose. For example, popular Instagram user Kylie Jenner tweeted an image to her Instagram account pleading with the company to “make Instagram Instagram again” and to “stop trying to be TikTok,” and Kim Kardashian and Jenner joined in the chorus of users who were upset with the company.
Adam Mosseri, Instagram Head, responded to the criticism by assuring users that photos remained a priority. He also addressed dissatisfaction with users’ feeds containing an increasing number of Recommended (algorithmically suggested posts), which appeared to be Instagram’s attempt to create an alternative to TikTok’s For You page.
