Facebook has gone through a lot of facelifts over the years but its subsidiary Instagram has remained more or less the same. All of that is about to change now that Instagram is implementing its first major homepage redesign in years. Instagram appears to be moving away from its previous focus on timeline based scrolling through images shared by people that you follow whether they are celebrities or just friends and family. The new homepage will shed a lot of light on the direction that Instagram is intending to take over the course of the next few years.
Both Reels as well as Shop are getting dedicated tabs on the homepage. This shows that Instagram is betting a lot on these two new features. The fact that Instagram is emphasizing new features over old ones shows that the company is willing to change. Ecommerce has proven to be an incredibly profitable business, and most tech companies are starting to move towards it in some way, shape or form. A dedicated tab for shopping can help make it more likely that users would consider going for this option since a homepage tab legitimizes a new feature and stops it from being an experiment that a company might be conducting which could reduce the likelihood that the average user would seriously consider looking into it.
Reels was launched only a month ago, and some are saying that it is a haphazard response to the growing threat posed by TikTok. It’s clearly a major priority for the company since it is now getting a dedicated tab. This is it is important to note that because of the fact that IGTV, Instagram’s attempt at competing with the likes of YouTube, hasn’t gotten a dedicated tab yet which could be because it failed to garner significant attention although the same can be said for Reels which means that Instagram might perceive TikTok as a greater existential threat.
Both Reels as well as Shop are getting dedicated tabs on the homepage. This shows that Instagram is betting a lot on these two new features. The fact that Instagram is emphasizing new features over old ones shows that the company is willing to change. Ecommerce has proven to be an incredibly profitable business, and most tech companies are starting to move towards it in some way, shape or form. A dedicated tab for shopping can help make it more likely that users would consider going for this option since a homepage tab legitimizes a new feature and stops it from being an experiment that a company might be conducting which could reduce the likelihood that the average user would seriously consider looking into it.
Reels was launched only a month ago, and some are saying that it is a haphazard response to the growing threat posed by TikTok. It’s clearly a major priority for the company since it is now getting a dedicated tab. This is it is important to note that because of the fact that IGTV, Instagram’s attempt at competing with the likes of YouTube, hasn’t gotten a dedicated tab yet which could be because it failed to garner significant attention although the same can be said for Reels which means that Instagram might perceive TikTok as a greater existential threat.
