How to sell on Instagram in 2026

In short:

• Instagram is now a place to start a sale, not finish one. In-app checkout was phased out by the end of August 2025, so buyers pay on your website.
• The two routes that move people to buy are shopping tags (tap a product, land on your site) and DMs (answer, send the link, close).
• Comment-to-DM bridges them: people comment a keyword and get your product link by private message.
• Clickable links in posts now need Meta One, from $49.99 a month. Bio links, story link stickers and DMs stay free.
• Reply fast. Sprout Social found about three in four people expect a reply from a brand within 24 hours.

Can you still sell on Instagram?

Yes, but the shape changed. Instagram phased out native checkout by the end of August 2025, as PPC Land reported on 29 June 2025. Shopping now works like this, in Instagram's words: shopping tags "direct customers to purchase those products from your website or the Instagram app" (Help Center).

So the job on Instagram is to get the right people to the right link, at the moment they want it. Here are seven ways to do that.

1. Tag your products with shopping tags

If you sell physical products, connect a catalog and tag products in posts, reels and stories. A tap opens the product, then your site.

• Who can use them: "Businesses, creators and qualified Instagram accounts," per Instagram.
• Let fans tag you: businesses can allow everyone, or only approved branded content partners, to tag their products. Every customer post becomes a shoppable post.
• Note: product mentions and hyperlinks in captions and profiles were retired. Older ones still appear, but you can't add new ones.

2. Sell in the DMs

Most buying questions arrive as messages: "price?", "do you ship to Canada?", "is this in stock?". Answer them and send the link in the same chat.

• People expect speed. Sprout Social reports about three in four consumers expect a reply from a brand within 24 hours, and its 2025 Index found 73% would buy from a competitor if a brand doesn't respond.
• Meta's research with Kantar found people are 72.4% more likely to buy from brands that offer messaging, across 11,056 adults in 22 markets.
• Instagram allows tools on its official API to help: the Help Center notes that accounts you message "may use third-party apps or automated services to send messages in chats."

More in our guide to Instagram DM marketing.

3. Use comment-to-DM on every product post

Put a keyword in the caption: "Comment SHOP and I'll DM you the link." Everyone who comments gets a private reply with the product link.

• Why it sells: the link lands in a chat they'll open, not in a bio they'll forget.
• Meta's rules: one private reply per comment, within 7 days of the comment; if they reply, you can keep talking inside the 24-hour messaging window.
• It scales: a post with hundreds of comments doesn't need hundreds of replies typed by hand.

BuzzWire's comment-to-DM automation does this free on the official API, and the ecommerce comment-to-DM templates give you ready-made keywords and messages.

4. Put links where they're still clickable

Full detail in how to add a link to an Instagram post.

5. Run click-to-message ads

Ads that open a DM instead of a website start a conversation with people already interested. Meta said in January 2026 that its US click-to-message ad revenue grew about 50% year on year, a sign advertisers are leaning in. Pair them with a keyword reply so every new chat gets an answer.

6. Sell through creators

Creators' audiences trust their picks. Ask creators to tag your products, run paid partnerships, or give them an affiliate link to send by DM. If you're the creator, see how to monetize Instagram and Instagram affiliate links. Disclose every paid or affiliate link.

7. Turn followers into a list you own

Instagram reach changes; an email list doesn't. Ask for an email in the DM before you send a discount code, then market to that list on sale days. Here's how to collect emails on Instagram.

Which way should you start with?

• Physical products with a site: shopping tags + comment-to-DM on every product post.
• Services and bookings: DMs + a booking link, sent automatically to a keyword like BOOK.
• Digital products: comment-to-DM with the checkout link, plus email capture.
• Sales and launches: see our Black Friday Instagram strategy.

A tip for creators and brands

Make buying one tap from the moment of interest. When a reel gets "price?" in the comments, that person wants the link now. A keyword in the caption and an automatic DM catches them before they scroll on. Start with your best-selling product and one keyword, and measure link clicks from the DMs.

FAQ

How do you sell on Instagram in 2026?

Use shopping tags to send people from posts to your product pages, answer buying questions in DMs, and add a comment keyword so people get the product link by private message. Keep links in your bio, story link stickers and DMs. Checkout happens on your own website.

Can you still check out on Instagram?

Instagram's in-app checkout was phased out by the end of August 2025. Shopping tags now send buyers to your website to pay. Instagram's Help Center describes tags directing customers to purchase "from your website or the Instagram app."

How do I sell on Instagram without a website?

Sell through DMs. Share the product in a post, ask people to comment a keyword, and send each one a payment or booking link by DM, for example from a checkout tool or a link-in-bio store. Keep every DM to one clear link.

Is it allowed to sell through Instagram DMs?

Yes. You can reply to anyone who messaged or commented first, and tools on Instagram's official API can send those replies for you. Meta allows one private reply per comment within 7 days, and follow-ups inside the 24-hour window after the person replies.

What sells best on Instagram?

Products that are easy to show in a short video or a carousel and easy to buy on impulse: fashion, beauty, home goods, food, and digital products like guides and templates. Services sell well too when you answer questions quickly in DMs.

Turn "price?" comments into sales. Start free on BuzzWire and DM your product link to everyone who comments your keyword.