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Instagram Now Lets You Shop Small Businesses by Sliding Into Their DMs

Through Instagram's chat function, people can now buy products, submit payments and track purchases.

Corinne Reichert Senior Editor
Corinne Reichert (she/her) grew up in Sydney, Australia and moved to California in 2019. She holds degrees in law and communications, and currently writes news, analysis and features for CNET across the topics of electric vehicles, broadband networks, mobile devices, big tech, artificial intelligence, home technology and entertainment. In her spare time, she watches soccer games and F1 races, and goes to Disneyland as often as possible.
Expertise News, mobile, broadband, 5G, home tech, streaming services, entertainment, AI, policy, business, politics Credentials
  • I've been covering technology and mobile for 12 years, first as a telecommunications reporter and assistant editor at ZDNet in Australia, then as CNET's West Coast head of breaking news, and now in the Thought Leadership team.
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Corinne Reichert
Screenshot showing Instagram chat about buying T-shirts with dogs on them

Here's how you can buy products directly by messaging a business.

 Meta

You can now buy your Instagram product finds directly from small businesses through chats on the platform. You can also use chats to pay for the items and track shipping. 

A billion people message businesses about their products every week, according to Instagram. As of Monday, you can make a purchase during those message interactions.

How to buy products through Instagram chats

1. Send a message to a business asking about the product you're interested in, including sizing and customizations available

2. When the business replies, they can answer questions and send a payment request with pricing and item description

3. You can then submit payment via Meta Pay

4. Once the payment has gone through, you can track your order via the same chat thread.

Instagram is also amplifying its commerce features by creating searchable maps that show local businesses and adding a tagging feature for products in posts. Also, check out everything to know about how to use Instagram Stories and how to keep your passwords strong and secure.