Introduction

Social media marketing is reshaping today’s e-commerce. E-commerce is defined as the buying and selling of goods such as products, information, and services through various networks on the Internet (Datta, 2011). E-commerce has allowed transactions between businesses and consumers to take place even outside of physical stores. Notable examples of these would be online shopping platforms such as Amazon and eBay. These companies have developed third-party platforms wherein their users are able to purchase and sell products and arrange for these products to be delivered. On the other hand, prominent companies and businesses have also developed their own digital storefronts. Major companies such as Apple, Sony, and Nike have their own online platforms dedicated to digital transactions. Local leading companies such as Coles, Woolworths, JB Hi-Fi, and Bunnings have also embraced the concept of e-commerce and developed their own online store platforms. Aside from websites dedicated to commercial purposes, other digital platforms have begun to integrate e-commerce into their systems. Social media is a primary example of this. Social media platforms have evolved from being platforms primarily used for networking and socialising to now being used for other purposes, such as e-commerce. With the domination of social media platforms as a means of networking, users have also engaged with the other features of these platforms. In particular, social media marketing has become more engaged with, therefore becoming more relevant in the e-commerce of today. In 2025, it is recorded that transactions made on social media platforms accounted for 17.11% of the total online sales (Statista Research Department, 2025). Among these platforms, Instagram, in particular, has grown from simply being a photo-sharing app into a platform of e-commerce wherein users can buy and sell products. The platform has developed systems and interfaces that allow users to transact with one another as well as to promote products. Among these is Instagram Shops, which is the platform’s feature that allows transactions between users. In Instagram posts, whether these are images, short video reels, or stories, there are links and tags that allow users to view and purchase the products and services being advertised, making this form of marketing a unique but effective means of e-commerce. Instagram is currently a market leader in e-commerce among social media platforms, coming in third behind Facebook and TikTok, with 29% of users preferring to use Instagram to make purchases (Zote, 2025). Instagram has also utilised marketing techniques and strategies such as targeted advertising and influencer marketing, and developed markets within the platform. These have allowed its users a dynamic yet convenient means of online shopping, encouraging users to engage with Instagram more. This also motivates businesses to become more inclined to focus on and expand their Instagram pages and stores. With this said, it is becoming more and more evident that Instagram is reshaping the field of e-commerce, affecting how online shopping and marketing are being utilised and engaged. Instagram has allowed e-commerce to become more user-focused as it enables direct interactions between buyers and sellers, personalises viewed product content through algorithms, and promotes influencer marketing.

Direct Buyer-Seller Engagement

As a social media platform, Instagram is designed to promote engagement and community among its users. It is primarily used as a media-sharing platform focusing on photos and short video clips (Hu et al., 2024). However, as time progressed until the present, Instagram has noticeably evolved from being a media-sharing platform and has integrated various functions and systems that go beyond its primary purpose. Although Instagram currently has a wide variety of features beyond media sharing, these features still revolve around the platform’s primary concept: user interaction. This is evident even in the features outside the platform’s media sharing, which is its original function. Instagram was able to integrate an e-commerce feature that allows users to buy and sell on the platform’s main interface, which is dubbed Instagram Shops. (Christano, 2024). This feature is made possible through links and tags. From a user’s perspective, Instagram Shops is simply the platform’s media posting interface, but instead of other people and accounts being tagged, it is the prices of the items displayed in the post or the link in videos and stories that lead to a separate page. With this, users still have access to Instagram’s main features that enable interaction, particularly the like, comment, and share features. These allow both buyers and sellers a direct means of interacting with one another without needing a third-party platform. Instagram offers multiple means of interaction compared to other e-commerce platforms that require users to utilise other means of contact. Users may interact publicly through the comment section. This is an effective means of both interaction and marketing, as these comments are visible to other users. Frequently asked questions, as well as product reviews, can be uploaded as comments, which allows brands and businesses to inform users about their products, improve their image and help users make their purchase decisions. Aside from the interactions in the comment section, users can also contact brands and businesses via the platform’s direct messaging interface. This feature is similar to that of other communication platforms like Messenger and WhatsApp, wherein users can message and call other users privately. Through these features, users can purchase products, see reviews, and contact the brands, all without needing to leave Instagram. This convenience and efficiency set Instagram above other platforms.

Algorithmic Experience in E-commerce

Aside from the platform’s effectiveness in engagement between buyers and sellers, another feature that makes Instagram stand out among other online platforms that engage in e-commerce is its algorithm. An algorithm is a computer sequence that studies a user’s habits, behaviours, and preferences in order to tailor a social media feed according to their tastes (Voorveld et al., 2023). Algorithms are what assist in making a user’s social media experience more personal. They study the posts and media that users interact with often and present similar content for them to view (Cotter, 2019). This principle also applies to Instagram Shops. Because Instagram’s e-commerce feature is still within the platform’s main interface, it is still within the reach of its algorithms. Therefore, users still enjoy the benefits of an algorithm assisting their shopping experience on the platform. These algorithms have reshaped how users engage with and discover products. In traditional e-commerce platforms, users must actively search for the products that they want, and whatever they search for is solely what they would receive. On the other hand, Instagram’s algorithm allows users to view their desired products along with similar products that they may also be interested in. Aside from this, the platform’s algorithm also observes other actions and habits of users, such as posts they constantly view and their interaction with similar posts. This allows the algorithm to personalise a user’s feed and even predict what their next purchase is. Aside from personalisation, algorithms also help users discover new products as they display products that are similar or related to those that users frequently search. Through these functions, Instagram is able to provide a seamless, interactive, and user-centred e-commerce experience for those who utilise its platform. From initially just passively scrolling through Instagram, users could shift to actively shopping and exploring through the platform without even realising it. Aside from Instagram’s users, this feature also benefits brands who engage in e-commerce within the platform, especially small and medium businesses, as they do not need to pursue active and aggressive means of promotion. Instead of approaching consumers through advertisements, users will be drawn towards the products due to the algorithm’s involvement. This spares these brands and businesses from exerting much effort and resources to implement their marketing strategies on the platform.

Digital Marketing Strategies Reshaped

Instagram has also reshaped e-commerce by implementing and enforcing unique marketing strategies. Through social media platforms like Instagram, a growing number of unique and engaging promotional strategies have been developed and spread. The most prolific and innovative among these is influencer marketing. Influencer marketing can be defined as the collaboration between renowned social media influencers and brands to promote the business’s products and services. This form of marketing has tremendous potential as it offers flexibility and innovation depending on how brands and influencers execute it. It also contributes a personal factor as it showcases an influencer’s experience and reviews on a product, which viewers may be interested in or relate to. In this form of collaboration, brands can either make a contract with their partnered influencers or reach out to social media influencers and send them samples of their products for these influencers to use, review, and promote on their platforms (Veirman et al., 2019). Through influencer marketing, both brands and influencers have experienced growth. According to Statista Research Department (2025), 32% of marketers worldwide have experienced an increase in engagement, while 19% have experienced an increase in social media traffic. These effects are enough to entice other brands to also participate and enforce their own influencer marketing strategies. Due to this, it is becoming evident that an increasing number of brands, companies, and businesses have begun to engage with influencer marketing. In 2024, the market size of influencer marketing around the world was recorded to be 24 billion USD, with this number being estimated to grow exponentially in 2025 (Statista Research Department, 2025). In the same year, surveys conducted with brands, businesses, and PR and marketing agencies revealed that 37.6% of these entities have partnered with up to 10 influencers, while 14.7% have partnered with more than a thousand social media influencers (Statista Research Department, 2025). Instagram, in particular, only has TikTok ahead of it and is the second leading social media platform that brands engaging in influencer marketing utilise, with 46.7% of marketers using it for their campaigns (Oberlo, 2024). With the popularity of influencer marketing, it is not only the brands and businesses that will be enticed to engage in influencer marketing, but also Instagram users. With the potential to earn from posts, as well as establishing networks with brands, more and more Instagram users will be encouraged to work on their social media persona and manage their accounts to look more appealing to brands and increase their chances of becoming an ambassador. 

Conclusion

Overall, it is evident that Instagram has reshaped the concept of e-commerce, making e-commerce more user-centred. From a social networking platform, Instagram has evolved to become a platform that also engages in e-commerce activities. Users of the platform now have other motives for utilising the platform, from purely interacting with other users to establishing and operating businesses within the platform. Instagram has innovative features that allow its users to have a seamless and engaging shopping experience. The platform’s interactive features, particularly its comment section and direct messaging feature, allow its users to engage and interact with one another directly. This invalidates the need for users to utilise third-party platforms to communicate with sellers and search for product reviews, as all these are available within the platform. Instagram also has algorithms that assist in giving users a more dynamic means of online shopping. These algorithms study a user’s online habits, searches, and interactions and use this information to personalise what they see and tailor their feed according to their preference. Algorithms also allow users to discover new products by including similar or related products in the feed specifically designed for each user. Lastly, Instagram has also given rise to unique yet effective marketing strategies. Among these strategies, the most prolific is influencer marketing. This form of marketing is dynamic and personal, as users are able to see reviews made by well-known influencers on a product through various forms of media. This marketing strategy benefits not only users but also influencers and brands, as they benefit from this partnership as well. Influencers may form a contract with companies or receive free product samples to review and become endorsers for these brands. On the other hand, businesses experience increased engagement and social media traffic from these exposures. Even with these dynamic and convenient features, Instagram continues to evolve and improve as a social media platform that has gone beyond its original intended purpose and will continue to revolutionise the concept and future of e-commerce.

References

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