Product Announcement: Instagram Shifts Strategy, Drops Native Shop Checkout

In a major shift for social commerce, Instagram has quietly ended its native in-app checkout experience in the UK and most international markets — marking a significant retreat from its original ambition to rival TikTok Shop.

This move signals a broader strategy reset by Meta: focusing on ad-driven traffic rather than end-to-end e-commerce infrastructure.

For brands, the implications are clear — TikTok is now the only major social platform offering a fully integrated discovery-to-purchase ecosystem.

1. What Changed

As of Q4 2025, Instagram has:

• Removed in-app product checkout for most international sellers.
• Redirected all product tags and Shops to external websites or e-commerce stores.
• Rolled back several Commerce Manager tools including fulfilment integrations and order management dashboards.

In short, Instagram Shops now act as catalogues, not checkouts.

Meta confirmed the change aims to “simplify the shopping experience” and prioritise ad monetisation — but for sellers, it means one thing: conversion friction is back.

2. Why Meta Made the Change

Three core factors drove the decision:

a. Low Adoption – Only ~8 % of global sellers used Instagram’s native checkout regularly, compared with 60 %+ of TikTok Shop sellers.

b. Cost and Compliance – Meta’s payment processing and data-handling requirements under EU regulations added complexity and overhead.

c. Strategic Refocus – Meta is shifting resources to AI-driven ad delivery and creator partnerships, leaving commerce execution to external platforms (Shopify, WooCommerce, etc.).

Somerce insight: Meta realised it could earn more through ads that send traffic elsewhere than by maintaining a full shopping ecosystem.

3. The Impact on Brands

The result? More drop-off, slower checkout completion, and reduced impulse-buy potential.

Brands relying heavily on Instagram’s native Shop features — especially in beauty, fashion, and wellness — will feel the pinch.

4. What This Means for TikTok

This change cements TikTok’s position as the leader in social commerce infrastructure.

TikTok still offers:
✅ In-feed checkout via TikTok Shop
✅ Next-day delivery through Fulfilled by TikTok (FBT)
✅ Creator commissions and affiliate tracking
✅ GMV Max Ads that optimise campaigns for total sales value

With Instagram stepping back, TikTok becomes the only social platform delivering a closed-loop path from content to conversion.

“Instagram is retreating to its roots as an ad platform.
TikTok, meanwhile, is building retail infrastructure.”
— Joe Yates, Co-Founder, Somerce

5. What UK Brands Should Do Next

✅ Re-evaluate your Meta commerce strategy.
If your Instagram traffic was converting in-app, expect CPA increases when redirecting to your website.

✅ Shift discovery campaigns to TikTok Shop.
TikTok’s conversion path is now faster and data-rich — with direct GMV attribution.

✅ Test GMV Max Ads + FBT fulfilment.
Let TikTok’s AI handle optimisation while fulfilment speed reinforces trust.

✅ Keep Instagram for community and retargeting.
It still works for storytelling, but TikTok now drives transactional ROI.

6. The Bigger Picture

Meta’s decision underscores a wider truth: social commerce is converging toward platforms that own both attention and fulfilment.

Instagram has chosen to monetise attention.
TikTok continues to monetise action.

By 2026, TikTok’s integrated shopping ecosystem could account for 30–40 % of total UK social commerce revenue, widening the gap even further.

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