How to Add a Shop on Instagram

Turning your Instagram profile from a simple gallery into a full-fledged storefront is one of the most powerful moves you can make for your brand. This guide breaks down exactly how to set up your Instagram Shop, from meeting the initial requirements to creating compelling shoppable content that actually drives sales. We’ll walk through every step so you can start selling directly to your followers.

First Things First: Do You Qualify for Instagram Shopping?

Before you get started, Meta has a few boxes you need to check to be eligible for Instagram Shopping. It's best to confirm these now to avoid any roadblocks later. Getting everything in order beforehand makes the setup process much smoother.

The Eligibility Checklist:

• Your business is located in a supported country. Most countries are now supported, but it’s always wise to check Meta's official list of supported markets for the most up-to-date information.
• You sell physical goods. Instagram Shopping is designed for physical products. Currently, services, digital products, and subscriptions are not eligible for direct checkout, though this is always evolving.
• Your business complies with Meta’s Commerce Policies. This is non-negotiable. Meta has strict rules about what can and cannot be sold on its platforms. Review the Commerce Policies to make sure your products (e.g., no weapons, illegal substances, adult products) are compliant. A violation here can get your shop shut down.
• You have a business website or use Checkout on Facebook and Instagram. You need a place to send customers to complete their purchase. For most brands, this means having your own e-commerce website where you can make sales.
• You have an Instagram Professional Account. Your Instagram profile must be set up as either a Business or Creator account. You can easily switch from a personal account in your Instagram settings through Settings and privacy > Account type and tools > Switch to professional account.

If you meet all these requirements, you’re ready to move on to the foundational step: creating a product catalog.

The Heart of Your Shop: Creating Your Product Catalog

Your Instagram Shop is powered by a product catalog. This is a digital file that contains all the important information about your products, including names, descriptions, pricing, images, and inventory. All your shoppable posts will pull information directly from this catalog. You have two primary ways to set this up.

Option 1: Use an Integrated E-commerce Platform (The Easy Way)

This is the most common and recommended path for most businesses. Platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, Adobe Commerce (Magento), and WooCommerce have built-in integrations that automatically sync your products with Facebook and Instagram. This means when you add a new product or update inventory on your website, it automatically updates in your Instagram-ready catalog.

Let's use Shopify as an example, as it's one of the most popular integrations:

1. From your Shopify dashboard, add the "Facebook & Instagram" Sales Channel.
2. Follow the prompts to connect your Facebook account (the one that manages your brand's Business Page and Instagram account).
3. Select the Facebook Business Page you want to connect.
4. Review and accept the terms and conditions.
5. Shopify will then automatically begin syncing your products to create a catalog in Meta's Commerce Manager. This can take anywhere from a few minutes to an hour depending on the number of products you have.

The process is similar for other major e-commerce platforms. Their goal is to make it as simple as possible to connect your store and start selling on social media.

Option 2: Manually Create a Catalog in Meta Commerce Manager

If you don’t use an integrated e-commerce platform, you can create and manage your catalog manually. This method requires more hands-on work but gives you full control.

1. Navigate to Meta Commerce Manager and click "Get Started."
2. Choose your Checkout Method. You'll likely select "Checkout on another website," which directs customers to your site to complete their purchase.
3. Select the Instagram and/or Facebook accounts you want to sell with.
4. From here, you’ll be prompted to create a new catalog. If you don't have one, Commerce Manager will guide you.
5. Now it's time to add products. You can do this one by one ("Manual" upload), upload a spreadsheet ("Data Feed"), or use the "Meta Pixel" to import items from your website automatically. For most small businesses, the manual or data feed options are the most direct.

Whichever method you choose, your goal is to have a complete, approved product catalog ready to go inside Meta Commerce Manager. Once that’s done, you're ready to submit your shop for review.

Let's Do It: Setting Up Your Shop inside Instagram

With your product catalog ready, the final part of the setup happens within the Instagram app itself. It’s a straightforward process that connects all the pieces you’ve put together.

1. Request a Review: Go to your profile and tap the three lines in the top right corner. Then, navigate to Settings and privacy > Business tools and controls > Set Up Instagram Shopping.
2. Connect Your Catalog: On the setup screen, you’ll be asked to connect your product catalog. Select the catalog you created earlier through your e-commerce platform or manually in Commerce Manager.
3. Review and Submit: Instagram will ask you to confirm details about your website domain and review all the connected parts. Once you confirm everything is correct, you can submit your account for review.

The review process can take a few days, so some patience is needed here. Instagram is verifying that your business and products comply with all their policies. You can check the status of your review anytime by visiting the "Shopping" section in your professional settings.

Turn on Shopping Features

Once your account is approved, you’ll receive a notification from Instagram. Now you can officially turn on the features and make your profile shoppable!

In Settings and privacy > Business tools and controls > Shopping, you should now see options to:

• Select the product catalog you want active on your profile.
• Turn on Checkout Method features (like 'Checkout on Instagram' if available and desired).

After this, you should see a "View Shop" button on your main profile page, and you are officially ready to start tagging products in your content.

Your Shop is Live! Here's How to Drive Sales

Getting your shop approved is just the beginning. The real success comes from integrating it seamlessly into your content strategy. Here are effective ways to promote your products and make it incredibly easy for users to buy from you.

1. Create Shoppable Feed Posts & Reels

This is the most common and effective way to use Instagram Shopping. When you create a new post or Reel, you now have the option to "Tag Products." Simply tap on the product in your photo or video, search for it in your catalog, and place the tag. When a user sees your post, they can tap the "View Products" icon to see the tagged items, and then tap through to your website to purchase.

Example: An independent boutique posts a high-quality photo of a model wearing a new dress. They tag the dress directly in the photo. A follower who loves the look can instantly see the name and price, and click directly to the product page without ever needing a "link in bio."

2. Tag Products in Instagram Stories

Don’t forget about Stories! You can use the "Product" sticker to feature a specific item from your catalog in your Story. This is great for new product announcements, limited-time offers, or "item of the day" features. Users can tap the sticker to learn more and shop directly.

3. Organize Products into Collections

Your shop's main page can be customized with "Collections," which work like curated product categories. This helps customers discover products more easily instead of scrolling through one long list. Consider creating collections based on:

• Seasons: "Summer Favorites," "Cozy Fall Collection."
• Themes: "Holiday Gift Guide," "Desk Accessories," "Workout Essentials."
• Price Points: "Gifts Under $25," "Luxury Finds."

This organization improves the user experience and can guide customers toward specific items you want to highlight.

4. Go Live with Instagram Live Shopping

Live Shopping allows you to feature and pin products from your catalog while you are broadcasting live. This is a powerful feature for product demos, launch events, or Q&A sessions. It creates a sense of immediacy and lets you interact with viewers in real-time as they ask questions about the products you're showing.

5. Use User-Generated Content (UGC) to Your Advantage

When customers tag your brand in photos featuring your products, that's free marketing material and powerful social proof. Reach out and ask for permission to repost their content on your feed. When you do, make that post shoppable by tagging the featured products. Seeing real people use and love your products is much more persuasive than a standard product shot.

Final Thoughts

Setting up an Instagram Shop transforms your profile from a brand awareness tool into a genuine e-commerce engine, closing the gap between discovery and purchase. By following this guide, you can create a seamless shopping experience for your followers and open up a new, highly effective revenue stream for your business.

Once your shop is running, the focus shifts to creating a steady stream of engaging, shoppable content. This is where planning becomes so valuable. At Postbase, we built our visual content calendar specifically for brands that need to see their entire strategy at a glance. You can plan and schedule your shoppable feed posts, Reels, and Stories weeks in advance, making sure you have a consistent flow of content that puts your products front and center without feeling repetitive. It helps keep your shop top-of-mind and your content calendar organized.