Instagram reveals its new design 1:29
(CNN Business) ––
Browsing Instagram is about to be a little different… for some changes.
This Thursday, the Facebook-owned company unveiled the first major modification to the app's home screen in 10 years.
The new design includes its own tab for the 15-second Reels video function.
It also adds a button dedicated to purchases.
The launch began this Thursday.
With these changes, Instagram is making a big bet on the future of short-form videos and online shopping.
Two categories in which you have invested heavily, but in which you have not shared any metrics.
For example, how many people actually use them.
(Instagram declined to provide statistics to CNN Business on both Reels and purchases.)
Instagram revamped its home screen (right), moving a few tabs, while adding new buttons for Reels and purchases.
The Reels tab is now located where the "+" icon used to be, through which people could create a new post or story.
That "+" icon goes up to the top of the home page.
It's next to the heart button where you check your activity, such as the "likes" and the people who follow you.
The old place of the heart button is replaced with the new buy tab, while the direct messaging icon remains in place.
“We haven't updated the Instagram home screen with big changes for quite some time.
But the way people create and enjoy culture has changed.
And the biggest risk for Instagram is not that we change too quickly, but that by not changing we become irrelevant, ”Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, said in a blog post.
Instagram's commitment to Reels in its changes
Instagram launches Reels, a nearly identical copy of TikTok 1:45
When Instagram launched Reels, its copycat TikTok feature, this tool was at the top of the Explore page or in user profiles.
So it was difficult to find.
A prominent tab on the home page could get more people to click and engage with the Reels feature, as popular TikTok continues to face uncertainty about its future in the U.S. Instagram reportedly recruited TikTok stars for its platform prior to the launch of Reels, but the "influencers" CNN Business has spoken to have had mixed opinions on the product so far.
advertising
That same push could apply to shopping, which for now has largely happened through people viewing posts from brands, influencers, or buyable ads while browsing Instagram.
With the "Buy" tab, users can search for specific products for the first time, see personalized recommendations and buy things directly on the platform.
LEE: Instagram will hide comments that could be considered offensive
"If we're going to make a change to Instagram navigation, it's a big deal," Vishal Shah, Instagram vice president of product, told CNN Business.
"We don't expect all Instagram users to feel on the first day that these tabs are valuable to them ... but we think they can be."
InstagramInstagram Reels