Instagram is today announcing a major revamp to the app’s home page, now bringing the Reels and Shop tab to the bottom navigation bar, something that the firm has been testing for a while. The company says that the change is being made due to short-form videos gaining popularity in the times of the pandemic and an increased reliance on online shopping for users.
The Facebook-owned company says that this is the first major revamp to the layout on Instagram since the service’s inception and that it does not “take these changes lightly”. Reels made its debut a few months ago and rivals the likes of TikTok in the short-form video sharing space. With TikTok facing scrutiny and challenges in some markets, Instagram poses to benefit by promoting Reels and encouraging users to adopt the feature.
The dedicated shopping hub announced back in July also finds a spot on the homepage now, moving from the Explore tab. The company says that it will serve “personalized recommendations, editors’ picks curated by [its] @shop channel, shoppable videos, new product collections, and more” in this tab. The service allows users to make payments through Facebook Pay – a way for the social media giant to unify the payment solution across its various offerings.
With the addition of the two tabs, the Create and Activity sections have been moved to the top of the home page, right next to the Messenger/Direct icon. While the redesign aims to provide more prominence to Instagram’s new services, the company reiterates that it still stays true to its “core value of simplicity”. The changes should begin rolling out to all users soon.
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