Instagram Will Discontinue Its Live Shopping Feature On March 16

Instagram, a social networking platform, has said that on March 16, its live shopping feature, which lets users tag products in their live broadcasts, would be discontinued.

"Beginning on March 16, 2023, you will no longer be able to tag products in live broadcasts on Instagram. This change will help us focus on products and features that provide the most value to our users," On a support page, company stated.

Although the company continues to"invest in shopping experiences for people and businesses across feed, stories, Reels, ads and more." users will still be able to set up and manage their shops on the platform.

The business also stated that other live broadcasting features, such as the ability to schedule a live broadcast, ask viewers to join your live broadcast, and conduct a live Q&A, will not be affected.

The social media platform had previously announced that, as of this month, the shopping option would no longer be present in the main bar at the bottom of the screen.

The button to add a new post will shift down, and the Shop tab will be replaced with the Reels tab, which is now prominently displayed on the navigation bar.

According to TechCrunch, Instagram users are no longer allowed to tag products when live-streaming, a feature that has been widely accessible to companies and creators in the US since 2020.

Users could tag products in their live broadcasts due to the feature. Although Instagram will continue to invest in purchasing experiences for individuals and businesses across feeds, stories, Reels, and advertisements, users can still set up and manage their sales on the platform.