Although the button that Instagram includes for direct access to the online store of its users had notable activity during the moments of greatest restriction of movement in the initial stages of the pandemic, that stage seems to have been left behind by decrease usage of said part of the platform services.
The Instagram app would recover its initial appearance by returning the direct access button to Notifications, plus the addition of the Reels button
That would be the reason why Instagram has started testing a version of its application in which the Shop button is replaced by the Notifications buttonthus changing the direct access for one of the features that would be used the most by its users.
If the change is finally transferred to the active version of the application, it would mean a certain form of return to the origins, although with the addition of the popular Reels button. At the moment the tests are being carried out among a small group of users and the change would be due to a change in strategy by Meta (parent company of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram) in which electronic commerce would have ceased to be a priority.
At the same time, it would be trying to simplify the user interface in order to facilitate the experience, leaving the Store as an option that is still accessible but from the options menu.
At the time there were complaints among users about the shift towards the commercial part and the postponement of notifications that were mitigated by the increase in the activity of a Store on Instagram that allowed each user to have their own through their profile.
Now the situation seems to have changed and the social experience and the viralization of content are more relevant, with a clear desire to compete against TikTok, the great reference, as demonstrated by the announcement made by Instagram that it will allow the publication of “ultra-high” images.
