Instagram Shopping has been through a significant overhaul in the last year. If you set up your shop a while ago and have not revisited it recently, some of what you knew no longer applies.

The good news is that product tagging still works well, and for health and wellness brands with physical products, Instagram remains one of the strongest discovery tools available. You just need to understand how the platform has changed before you invest time in it.

FIRST, THE BIG UPDATE

Purchases no longer happen inside Instagram

Until mid-2025, Instagram offered native in-app checkout, meaning customers could discover and buy a product without ever leaving the app. Meta removed that feature in August 2025 for most businesses, and it is not coming back.

What this means is that when someone taps a product tag on your post, they are taken to a product detail page inside Instagram, and then redirected to your website to complete the purchase. Instagram is the discovery engine. Your website handles the transaction.

This is worth understanding before you set anything up. A well-configured Instagram Shop with strong product tags will drive traffic to your site. But if your website checkout is slow, unclear, or not optimised for mobile, that traffic will not convert.

It is also worth knowing that Instagram removed the dedicated Shop tab from the main navigation bar back in February 2023. Products are still discoverable through the Explore tab, tagged posts, Reels, and Stories, but there has not been a dedicated shopping destination in the app for some time. Discovery happens through your content, not a separate storefront.

GETTING SET UP

What you need before you start

To use Instagram Shopping, you need a business account, a connected Facebook Page, and a product catalogue linked via Commerce Manager. Most brands connect their catalogue through Shopify, WooCommerce, or BigCommerce. You also need a verified domain and a working website checkout.

Once your catalogue is approved, you can tag products in feed posts, Reels, Stories, and carousels. The approval process can take a few days, so factor that in if you are planning a launch around a specific date.

HOW TO USE PRODUCT TAGS WELL

What to do

• Tag the most prominent products in the image. If a product is clearly visible, tag it. Customers should not have to guess what is shoppable.
• Keep the number of tags manageable. Up to five product tags per single image works well. Too many tags overlap and make the image harder to navigate. Carousel posts allow you to tag products across multiple slides, which gives you more flexibility to showcase a range without overcrowding any one frame.
• Use high-quality, specific visuals. For health and wellness brands, close-up product shots, lifestyle imagery, and clean still life perform well. The image should make someone want to know more about the product. 
• Mix product formats. Combine single-product close-ups with wider lifestyle shots that show products in context. Both serve different purposes at different stages of the buying decision. 
• Tag products in Reels and Stories too. Reels get significantly more reach than static posts. If you are already creating short-form video, make your products shoppable there as well. In Stories, use the product sticker to link directly to a product page.
• Make sure your website is ready. Since all purchases now happen on your site, your product pages need to be clear, mobile-optimised, and fast to load. This is where the sale is won or lost.

What to avoid

• Overlapping tags. If tags sit on top of each other, the image becomes difficult to use. Space them out, or reduce the number of products tagged.
• Tagging products that are not clearly visible. Customers find it confusing when a tag appears on something they cannot clearly identify in the image.
• Ignoring your website experience. A great Instagram Shopping setup will not rescue a slow or confusing checkout. If you are investing in product tags, invest equally in the page they land on.
• Relying on hashtags to drive shoppable content. Instagram now caps hashtags at five per post, and their role in discovery has shifted. Strong captions, relevant keywords in your product titles and descriptions, and good creative will work harder for you than a block of hashtags.
• Using imagery that does not show the product clearly. This is especially important for wellness products, where the customer cannot physically handle the item. The image needs to do that work for them.

Need help with this?

If you want a social media partner who understands the health and wellness category and can help you set this up properly, get in touch.

Original post: 2020

If you’re a product-selling brand and you’re new to the business profile Instagram set-up, congratulations for making it this far.

Instagram has enhanced its business offering and business platform hugely over the last year or so, delivering innovative concepts which enable us to view analytics, link websites and other profiles, and set up Instagram Shopping – the latest tool to support the marketing and selling of various products to a social media audience.

This short guide to shopping tags is designed to introduce you to the Do’s and Don’ts of Instagram Shopping…

• DO tag the most prominent products in your photo.
• DO tag between 3 and 5 products in each wide-scale image. For example, if you are a wellness retreat looking to sell your experience and a series of products, consider the setting as well as the products on show, and tag between 3 and 5 of them.
• DO use striking and high-quality visuals, particularly on close-ups.
• DO combine wide-scale photos with single product showcases, for a varied feed. Sometimes customers will want to see and learn more about specific products – sometimes it helps to see different products in situ.
• DO use hashtags to draw the right audience to your shoppable posts.
• DO use Instagram stories as a way of introducing products through images and videos.

• DON’T tag too many products in any one image. Consider how the image will look when the customer clicks to see the shopping tags – if any of the tags overlap, your image becomes confusing and difficult to shop.
• DON’T clutter your caption with hashtags. Instagram allows for 30 hashtags but this is often far too many and ends up cluttering the post.
• DON’T use images which don’t do the product justice. If it doesn’t make your products look great, don’t use it.
• DON’T alienate your audience by only using a very specific type of model or setting.

Still unsure on how Instagram shopping can enhance your social presence? To discuss the benefits and find out how Instagram shopping can help you reach new audiences, get in touch with the Dot Dash Digital team.