Instagram is rolling out a revamped shopping tab in the US. The redesigned Shop section will add several new features including personalized product recommendations and the ability to preview exclusive launches.

According to the platform, the revamp will begin rolling out in the US this week and will expand to users everywhere in the weeks ahead. Instagram is making it easier for people to shop inside its app. It’s rolling out a dedicated Shop page under the Explore tab that’ll highlight different brands and items that people can purchase. The Shop page will also give users personalized recommendations on things to buy, with everything being able to be purchased from within the app. Instagram is also making Facebook Pay, which lets people insert most debit or credit card information into the app and save it to easily share money. Facebook Pay is available for both shopping purchases and donations, which has been planned since the product debuted. Both these features are coming to the US first.

Combined, these features make shopping on Instagram more seamless, especially when it comes to paying. People don’t have to exit Instagram or constantly reenter their payment information to buy something, which has previously presented a major hurdle for buyers. Instagram charges a selling fee for purchases made over Instagram, so it has set itself up to increasingly profit off those sales as shopping become more popular on the app.

 Instagram has slowly added shopping features to its app. Last year, it enabled in-app purchases and, in 2018, began allowing users to tag the products in their photos and their video content, making them more monetizable. Instagram is setting itself up to be both a place where people can find lifestyle or clothing inspiration and where they can effortlessly purchase the items to make that dream life a reality.

Products will be broken down into categories like 'collections' which aggregate similar items together or 'Brands' which allows users to browse by specific retailers. A new 'Suggestions for you' section will also employ Instagram's data-driven targeting to recommend products that users may be interested in. Also apparent in the new design is Instagram's commitment to making the Shop feature a more prominent part of its platform.

Source- The Verge