Instagram Is Testing Shopping Tab instead of Activity Tab

Instagram today is starting a small global test of the Instagram Shop tab, first announced this May, which allows Instagram users to shop from top brands and creators via a new tab in the app’s navigation bar with just one tap. Here, users will be able to filter products by categories, as they can today via the existing Shop experience within Instagram Explore.

The main difference is that the Shop icon will replace the heart icon (Activity) in Instagram’s main navigation. For those in the test, the Activity tab can either be accessed at the top right of your Feed (next to the paper airline Direct icon) or by going to your profile and clicking the heart icon from there.

In this version of Instagram Shop accessed from the main navigation bar, users can filter by brands they follow or by category, including things like Beauty, Clothing & Accessories, Home, Jewelry & Watches and Travel, for example. In addition, not all products showcased in this version of Shop allow users to check out directly from Instagram’s universal cart. Instead, some brands have items tagged for shopping, but direct users to their own website to complete the transaction.