Instagram recently released a new shopping feature for Instagram Stories which enables businesses to add shopping stickers within Stories. This is a huge leap for the shopping market on Instagram as online stores are no longer limited to linking products using the 'Swipe Up' feature. The best part is that you don't have to be verified or have 10,000 followers to use this new feature! This is great news for smaller businesses since they now have the ability to drive sales directly from Instagram Stories. When followers watch an Instagram Story, they can tap on a sticker to learn more about the product or make a purchase! Instagram Stories has 400 million people using it daily, so it only makes sense for them to expand the shopping features and make it even easier to shop directly on the platform. Read on to learn more about how to use this new feature!

Shopping within Stories

Businesses that are already set up and approved to use shopping can now add one product sticker to any story with customizable text color. All the customer has to do is tap on the product sticker, and they'll be taken to a product details page (similar to what they see when they tap on a shopping post in their feed). Shoppers will then be able to see more product images, similar items, and other details. They will also be able to access a link to the business's mobile site to make a purchase! There are a few different kinds of stickers to choose from (shopping bag icon, a sticker with the product name in grey or rainbow, and translucent text), and the sticker can be placed on either videos or images.

How Shoppable Stories Stickers Work

Before you dive into this new feature, there are a few requirements you'll need to know and confirm before you can gain access.

• You must have an Instagram Business account (it's very easy to switch, click here to learn how).

• You need to be located in one of the countries that this feature is available in (click here to see if you're in one of the 46 countries listed).

• Your Instagram business profile has to be connected to a Facebook catalog. Learn how to set up a catalog on FB & add products here.

• Your business has to sell physical goods that yield to Instagram's commerce policies and merchant agreement, meaning that you must have products on your Facebook page to have access to the 'Product' stickers.

• You must be on the latest version of the Instagram app on Android or iOS.

How to Add Product Stickers within Stories

1. Open Instagram Stories and select a photo or video from your camera roll, or take a new one.
2. Tap on the Stickers button and select the 'Product' stickers.
3. From there, you'll have the option to select a product from within your catalog. (Click here to learn more about creating a catalog and adding products).
4. After you pick a product, you'll have the option to change the color of your sticker by tapping it. You can also move the sticker anywhere within your Story. *Remember that you don't have the option to edit the product name in your story. You would have to open your product catalog and change the name manually.

Shopping within Explore

Aside from the new shoppable stickers feature in Stories, Instagram also released a personalized Shopping channel on the Explore page. How it works is that when you go to the Explore page, you'll find a tab that says 'Shopping' on the top. When you tap on that, you'll see shopping posts from a variety of businesses that you either follow or brands you might like, which gives users the opportunity to discover and shop from new businesses! The Explore page currently has around 200 million Instagram accounts visiting it every day, so we're expecting to see big things from the new Shopping channel. These new features are very exciting for brands wanting to drive sales on the platform - especially given the massive success that Instagram Stories has seen thus far. We can't wait to see how these new features unfold and bring new opportunities to businesses in their marketing efforts.