Instagram has launched the next stage of its on-platform ecommerce experience with a new ‘Shop’ section in the Explore tab, showcasing a range of personalised items within a single buyable feed.

The new Shop listings will highlight personalised product recommendations for each user, based on the accounts they follow and the businesses that are using Instagram’s product listings.

Parent company Facebook announced Instagram’s coming Shop options back in May, which will eventually see a significant increase in buyable product listings in the app. This new Explore section is another element in that gradual evolution.While there was already a way to shop within Instagram before today and even check out from select accounts without leaving the app, the new Instagram Shop has been designed to encourage even more browsing and discovery of brands, creators and products.

The shopping feature coincides with the launch of of Facebook Pay for purchases and donations in the US. Both initiatives were announced previously, this year and in 2019, but had not yet rolled out.

What’s the user experience?

Instagram Shop is described as a place to browse products from favorite brands and creators, as well as curated collections published by the Instagram-run @shop account. In the Shop tab, you’re able to filter by categories like beauty and home, for example, and then check out directly in the app.Users in the US will be able to buy some products – those with special “checkout” arrows – directly on Instagram without leaving the app.

Source: Instagram Shop goes live in US: Pinterest meets Amazon? – Netimperative