Meta Introduces Creator Commissions on Instagram and Buy Now Button in Ads — Major Social Commerce Push

Meta Unveils Major Shopping Upgrades at Shoptalk

Meta goes deeper into shopping, tests creator commissions on Instagram and new buy button within ads

Meta has a new buy now button for users to buy items once they've clicked on an ad.

On March 24, 2026, Meta announced a series of major upgrades to Facebook and Instagram shopping features at the Shoptalk retail conference in Las Vegas. The announcements cover three key areas: expansion of the Facebook affiliate program, testing of creator affiliates on Instagram, and a new in-ad "Buy Now" button for seamless purchasing.

These moves are all strategically aimed at capturing advertising spend across both the creator economy and retail media.

Background and Industry Context

Meta's renewed push into social commerce is driven by the rapid growth of TikTok Shop. TikTok Shop has reached $23.4 billion in GMV (Gross Merchandise Value) in the U.S., nearly doubling year-over-year. TikTok had been leading in the "seamless discovery-to-purchase experience" where creators showcase products in Reels and viewers buy directly.

Meta shut down Instagram's affiliate program back in 2022. However, in December 2024, the company improved affiliate link display on Facebook Reels, and by March 2026 had rebuilt it as a self-serve affiliate program. Today's announcement dramatically accelerates this trajectory.

Katya Constantine, CEO of agency Digishopgirl Media, noted that "Meta is learning from TikTok Shop's success and trying to make both discovery and purchasing significantly easier."

The Three Major Features Announced

New partners are being added to Facebook's affiliate program. In the U.S., Amazon and eBay are joining; in Latin America, Mercado Libre; and in Asia, Shopee. Creators can select brands and products from their professional dashboard and add affiliate links to posts. When purchases occur through these links, brands pay commissions to creators.

A similar affiliate program will begin testing on Instagram starting spring 2026. It launches first with Amazon in the U.S. and Shopee in Asia. Creators can tag products from brand catalogs or URLs in Reels and feed posts, with availability planned across 22 countries. This effectively turns every Instagram video into a "digital storefront."

The most notable feature is the new "Buy Now" button within Meta ads. After clicking an ad, users can complete purchases directly within the app. Advertisers select a checkout partner, and order fulfillment is handled directly by the advertiser.

For users who don't purchase immediately, Meta will display reviews, brand information, discounts, and product recommendations after the ad click. Melanie Babcock, CMO of 1-800-Flowers.com, praised the feature as "anticipating consumer needs and delivering an end-to-end purchase experience."

Additionally, Meta is testing a new retail media tool called "Product Set Optimization." It helps retailers improve ad performance for specific SKU sets. Test partner Ovative Group reported "up to 40% improvement in ROAS (Return on Ad Spend)."

Impact and Strategies for E-commerce Merchants

This announcement opens multiple new sales channels for e-commerce merchants.

Regarding creator affiliates, this provides a new customer acquisition channel through creator product endorsements. While TikTok Shop's affiliate conversion rate reaches 4.7%, Instagram Shopping sits at 2.1%. However, given Instagram's 2 billion+ monthly active users, the potential for reach expansion through affiliate adoption is substantial.

The Buy Now button significantly reduces purchase friction from ads. However, since checkout partner selection and fulfillment remain the advertiser's responsibility, operational readiness is essential.

Key action points include:

• Check whether your market is included in the Instagram affiliate test (rolling out across 22 countries starting spring)
• Develop a creator partnership strategy — product catalog preparation and commission design are critical
• Prepare checkout infrastructure for the Buy Now button — monitor integration status with major platforms like Shopify
• Consider international expansion through Shops ads — in-Shops ads are now available in Canada, Mexico, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, the UK, and Australia

Conclusion

Meta has launched a comprehensive suite of features covering every phase of social commerce: discovery, recommendation, and purchase. In response to the consumer behavior that TikTok Shop has proven — buying products directly on social media — Meta is mounting a head-on challenge with the massive user bases of Instagram and Facebook.

As Constantine puts it, Meta "doesn't intend to become a retailer, but is trying to capture a larger share of ad spend and affiliate revenue." For e-commerce merchants, this is the time to reassess sales channel strategy on Meta. The official rollout timeline for Instagram affiliates and the detailed announcement of supported checkout partners for the Buy Now button are the next key milestones to watch.