Instagram Story Shopping and Reels Tags for Shopify
Instagram story shopping works through the product sticker: one sticker per story, with up to 5 products from your shop. Reels take product tags instead, up to 30 products or a whole collection per reel, added under More options > Tag Products before you share. Both need an approved shop on Instagram, which a Shopify store gets through the Facebook and Instagram by Meta sales channel, and both send the buyer to your Shopify checkout.
| Stories | Reels | |
|---|---|---|
| How you tag | Product sticker | Tag Products, in the creation flow |
| Products per item | Up to 5, one sticker per story | Up to 30, or one collection |
| What the shopper taps | The sticker | View products |
| Source | Product stickers | Tag products in Reels |
Instagram shows its help per device, and the steps here follow the iPhone version, checked on October 31, 2026, together with Shopify’s Instagram Shopping page.
Before you can tag anything
Instagram’s sticker and Reels pages both start from the same condition: the business must be approved and have its shop on Instagram set up. For a Shopify store that means the Instagram Shopping feature of the Facebook and Instagram by Meta channel, with your products synced to a Meta catalog. Our guide to the Shopify Instagram shop walks through that setup.
Two details from Shopify’s page matter once you start tagging. A product must be in your Meta catalog and on your online store, or it won’t appear in the tag picker. And a product with several variants in Shopify gets one variant per tag, so pick the color or size that is actually in the video.
Product stickers in Stories
To add the sticker, per Instagram’s product sticker page:
- Tap the create button and select Story.
- Pick a photo or video, then choose the product sticker from the sticker tray. In some app versions it sits under the Shopping sticker as Products.
- Select a collection, a storefront or individual products from your catalog, and tap Done.
- Drag the sticker where you want it; tap it to switch its style.
- Choose the audience and tap Share.
Each story holds one product sticker with up to 5 products, and the sticker can sit next to other stickers such as a poll. Stories with a product sticker can go into your highlights, so the sticker stays on your profile after the story itself is gone.
Photo or video? The two help centers disagree. Shopify’s Instagram Shopping page, read on October 23, 2026, says product tags in stories work on image stories only. Instagram’s sticker page, read on October 31, 2026, offers the sticker for a photo or a video. Post a test video story from your own account before you plan a campaign around one.
Stories also have the link sticker, which replaced “Swipe up”. Use it for pages outside your Meta catalog, such as a blog post, a size guide or a landing page. Add UTM parameters to that link so you can tell those visits apart in your reports.
Product tags in Reels
A reel can carry up to 30 products or a collection, picked while you create it. The steps from Instagram’s Reels tagging page:
- Tap Create new and select Reels, or swipe to the camera and tap Reels.
- Record the reel or upload a video, then tap Next.
- Choose the cover and write the caption.
- Tap More options, then Tag Products, and select the products or a collection.
- Tap Done, then Share.
Viewers see a View products button and can buy, save or read more about each tagged item. Tagging is part of the creation flow, so plan the product list before you film: a reel that walks through a bundle can carry every item of the bundle, and a reel built around one collection can tag that collection instead of products one by one.
One trade-off is easy to miss. Instagram’s Reels shopping page states that reels with product tags are not eligible to be featured, and a reel that was already featured can’t be edited later to add tags. If reach from being featured matters more to you for a given video than the shopping button, leave that one untagged and put the link in a story.
Tagged reels still have the chance to be shown in the Reels tab, and they stay on your profile. The same page covers creator collaborations: businesses and creators can tag products in reels for merchandise or product collabs, and both partners must be approved to use shops on Instagram.
Who can tag your products
By default, everyone on Instagram can tag products from your shop unless you opt out. To change it, go to your profile in the Instagram app and tap Menu > Business > Shopping > Product tags. Instagram’s permissions page lists three choices:
- Allow product tags from everyone
- Allow product tags from only your branded content partners
- Don’t allow product tags
After you switch to Don’t allow product tags, existing tags and stickers stay on other people’s posts and stories until you delete those tags. When someone tags your product in a story, you are notified and can remove the sticker.
For creator work, Instagram adds rules worth passing on to the creators you hire. A creator isn’t paid by Instagram when someone buys through a tag in their story, so any commission has to come from your own affiliate setup. Content made in exchange for payment or free products needs the paid partnership label under Meta’s branded content policies. And tags in Stories and Reels have to be added in the Instagram app itself, because third-party tools can tag products in feed posts only.
Where the sale happens
When a shopper taps a sticker or a reel tag, they see the product’s name, price and description, all pulled from Shopify. Selecting Checkout on seller’s website opens the product on your online store, and they pay in your Shopify checkout. Shopify’s page notes that since August 26, 2025, tax collection and compliance on these orders are your responsibility, so check your tax settings for every country your Instagram buyers come from.
If a price on a tag looks wrong, edit the product in Shopify. The description on Instagram can’t differ from Shopify’s, and Shopify’s page also suggests checking Meta Commerce Manager for a sale start or end date on the product. Our guide to Instagram ads for Shopify covers putting paid reach behind your best tagged reels. TikTok, Pinterest and YouTube have their own guides on the marketing and SEO hub.
Frequently asked questions
How many products can I tag in an Instagram story or reel? A story takes one product sticker with up to 5 products. A reel takes up to 30 products, or one collection, added under More options > Tag Products before you share it.
Do customers pay inside Instagram? Instagram Shopping now sends them to your Shopify checkout. They tap the product, select Checkout on seller’s website and complete the order on your store.
Why can’t I find the product sticker? Your shop on Instagram has to be approved first, and the product must be in your Meta catalog and on your online store. Instagram’s iPhone help also notes that the feature may not be available in your location, and in some app versions the sticker sits under the Shopping sticker as Products.