How to Open a Shop on Instagram

Turning your Instagram profile from a simple gallery into a full-fledged storefront is one of a brand's most powerful moves. Suddenly, every stunning photo, engaging Reel, and interactive Story becomes a direct path to purchase. This step-by-step guide is designed to walk you through the entire process of setting up your Instagram Shop, from the initial eligibility checks to tagging your very first product.

First Things First: Are You Eligible for Instagram Shopping?

Before you get into the fun part, it's essential to make sure your business ticks all the right boxes for Instagram Commerce. It's a fairly straightforward checklist, but skipping a step can bring the whole process to a halt. Luckily, once you meet these requirements, you're set for good.

Here’s what you need to have in place:

• A Supported Location: Your business must be physically located in one of Instagram's supported markets. The list is extensive and covers most countries, but it’s always smart to double-check.
• Eligible Products: You must sell physical, tangible goods. Currently, Instagram Shopping doesn't support the sale of services, digital products, or tickets, though this is always subject to change.
• Compliance with Policies: Your business and products have to follow Meta's Commerce Policies. This covers things like prohibited content and community standards. Take a few minutes to read through them to avoid any unwelcome surprises.
• An Instagram Business or Creator Account: Personal accounts can't set up a shop. If you’re still on a personal profile, switching is easy. Just head to Settings and privacy >, Account type and tools >, Switch to professional account and follow the prompts.
• A Connected Business Page on Facebook: Because Instagram operates within the Meta ecosystem, your Instagram account needs to be connected to a Facebook Business Page.
• A Website Domain for Selling: You need to own and operate a website where customers can complete their purchases. This is where your product tags will ultimately send shoppers.

Once you’ve confirmed that everything on this list is in order, you can move on to the actual setup.

The 5-Step Setup: Building Your Instagram Shop

Setting up your shop is a one-time process that involves a little bit of work up front, but it powers all of your future selling on the platform. We'll break it down into five clear stages.

Step 1: Set Up Commerce Manager

Think of Commerce Manager as your command center for all things sales-related on Meta platforms. This is where you'll manage your product catalog, view insights, and configure your shop's settings. It's not in the Instagram app - it's part of the Meta Business Suite.

Here’s how to get started:

1. Navigate to the Meta Commerce Manager and click "Start setup."
2. You’ll be asked to choose a checkout method. For most businesses starting out, the best option is "Checkout on another website." This means when a user clicks a product tag on Instagram, they’ll be redirected to your website’s product page to complete the purchase. The other options, "Checkout with Facebook or Instagram" and "Checkout with messaging," offer a more native experience but come with different fee structures and requirements.
3. Select the sales channels you want to use - in this case, your Instagram account. Make sure you select the correct Instagram Business profile and the associated Facebook Page.
4. Connect your existing business accounts or create a new one, then submit your setup for review.

Step 2: Create a Product Catalog

A catalog is simply a digital file containing a comprehensive list of all the products you want to sell on Instagram. Each product entry needs details like a name, description, price, and high-quality images. Without a catalog, Instagram has no product information to display. You have three main ways to build one:

• Manual Upload: This is a great option if you have a small, manageable number of products (say, under 20). Inside Commerce Manager, you can add items one by one. You'll upload your own images, write the descriptions, set the price, add an inventory count, and paste the direct link to the product on your website. It’s hands-on but gives you total control.
• Data Feed/Spreadsheet Upload: For those with larger inventories, adding products one by one isn’t practical. A data feed lets you upload your entire product list using a formatted spreadsheet (like a CSV or Google Sheets file). Meta provides templates to help you format your columns correctly - you'll need fields like id, title, description, image_link, price, and link.
• E-commerce Platform Integration (Highly Recommended): This is the easiest and most efficient method by far. Major e-commerce platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, Magento, and WooCommerce have built-in integrations with Meta. By installing a simple app or plugin, these platforms can automatically sync your entire product catalog with Commerce Manager. Any time you add a new product or update pricing on your website, it syncs automatically. This "set it and forget it" approach saves you a massive amount of time.

Step 3: Connect Your Catalog to Your Instagram Profile

With your catalog ready in Commerce Manager, it's time to connect it to your Instagram and submit your account for final review. Instagram's team will check to make sure your account follows their commerce policies and is a genuine business selling legitimate products.

To do this inside the Instagram app:

1. Go to your profile and tap the menu icon in the top right.
2. Tap Settings and privacy >, Business tools and controls >, Set up Instagram Shopping.
3. Follow the on-screen prompts. You’ll be asked to confirm your business details and select the product catalog you just created in Commerce Manager.
4. After linking your catalog, hit "Submit for Review."

The review process can take a few days. You’ll receive a notification within the app once your account has been approved and is ready for the next step.

Step 4: Your Account is Approved! Turn on Shopping

Congratulations! Once you get that notification that your shop is approved, there is just one final switch to flip.

• Head back to Settings and privacy >, Business tools and controls.
• You should now see an option for Shopping. Tap on it.
• Here, you’ll confirm the product catalog you want to use. Once you do that, shopping features are officially live on your account! You should also see a new "View Shop" button on your profile that takes users to your own dedicated storefront tab.

Step 5: Start Tagging! Bring Your Shop to Life

This is where your upfront work pays off. Now you can seamlessly integrate your products into the content you're already creating. Shopping isn't a separate activity, it's a layer on top of your content strategy.

• Tag Products in Feed Posts: When creating a new post (photo, carousel, or video), you'll see a "Tag Products" option right below "Tag People." Just tap the photo where your product appears and search for it from your catalog. You can add up to five product tags per single-image post and up to 20 for a multi-image carousel post. These create a "tap to view products" pop-up.
• Use Product Stickers in Stories: When creating an Instagram Story, you can access the sticker tray and select the "Product" sticker. Search for the item from your catalog you want to feature. Viewers can tap the sticker to see the product details and click through to your website.
• Highlight Products in Reels: Short-form video is a sales powerhouse. When you're about to publish a Reel, use the "Tag Products" option to link items featured in the video. This adds a small "View products" banner at the bottom of the Reel, allowing for direct shopping from your most engaging content.

Best Practices for a Successful Instagram Shop

Just having a shop isn't enough, you need to make it an inviting and compelling place to browse. Here are a few strategies to take your shop from functional to fantastic.

Create High-Quality, Authentic Content

Your Instagram feed is your digital showroom. Grainy, poorly lit photos won't cut it. Invest in high-quality visuals, but don't stop there. Instead of only showing a product on a white background, create lifestyle content. Show your product being used or worn in real-life situations. A person happily wearing your jacket sells it far better than the jacket hanging on a rack.

Promote Your Shop with Product Collections

Collections let you group related products into themed categories that appear on your storefront. Think of them as curated lookbooks or gift guides. Inside Commerce Manager, you can create collections like "Autumn Essentials," "Best Sellers," or "Gifts Under $50." This helps shoppers find what they’re looking for and encourages discovery.

Leverage User-Generated Content (UGC)

When customers tag your brand in photos featuring your products, that's pure gold. Reach out for permission to repost their content and be sure to tag the products shown. UGC acts as powerful social proof - it shows real people enjoying your products, which builds trust with potential new customers far better than a branded ad ever could.

Write Compelling Product Descriptions

When a user taps on a product, they see the name, price, and description from your catalog. Don't waste this space on boring, technical specs. Use your brand's voice to tell a story. Is your candle made from sustainable soy wax that provides a clean, 40-hour burn? Mention it. Is your ceramic mug handcrafted by local artisans? That’s a key selling point. Focus on benefits over features.

Final Thoughts

Setting up an Instagram Shop transforms your social media presence from a brand awareness channel into a direct revenue driver. By confirming your eligibility, building a catalog in Commerce Manager, and integrating product tags into your best content, you can create a seamless shopping experience where inspiration leads directly to purchase.

Once your shop is live, consistency is everything, and that's where planning comes into play. As a team that’s been in the trenches with social media, we built Postbase to streamline that exact process. Our visual calendar makes it simple to plan out your promotional posts for Reels and Stories, while rock-solid scheduling means you can trust your product launches and campaign content will go live exactly when they're supposed to. We designed it for the video-first world of social media today, giving you more time to create content that sells and less time wrestling with clunky tools.