Meta Is Dropping Native Checkout on Facebook and Instagram Shops

Meta is retiring native checkout on Facebook and Instagram — a move that will reshape how ecommerce brands engage shoppers across these platforms.

Starting June 5, 2025, merchants using native checkout in the U.S. will begin transitioning back to external checkout. 

By August, the in-app purchase flow will be fully deprecated. 

This change doesn’t eliminate Meta Shops, but it does return checkout to brand-owned storefronts.

For ecommerce advertisers, it’s a critical inflection point. What comes next depends on how you adapt your product feeds, rethink your campaign structure, and prepare for a model that puts more of the customer journey back in your control.

Native checkout was supposed to be the future of social commerce

When Meta introduced native checkout, it was framed as the cornerstone of a new kind of shopping experience — one that kept users inside Facebook and Instagram from discovery to purchase. No redirects, no friction. Just scroll, tap, buy.

The pitch resonated. Ecommerce platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce built native integrations. Feed platforms updated logic to support in-app checkout. Brands adjusted strategy and invested developer time to support what seemed like a long-term shift toward in-platform commerce.

But the model never scaled the way Meta hoped. Adoption was limited. Conversion data stayed locked in-platform. And for many brands, the lack of control over the checkout flow created more problems than it solved. Meta’s decision to sunset native checkout reflects that reality — not a collapse, but a course correction.

What changes are coming? And when?

Meta’s phase-out of native checkout began today, June 5, 2025, and is expected to ramp up quickly. 

By August, the feature will be fully deprecated for all U.S. merchants currently using it. From that point forward, product detail pages on Facebook and Instagram Shops will direct shoppers to external checkout URLs hosted on the merchant’s own site.

Only merchants using native checkout are affected — those already relying on outbound links won’t see major functional changes. But for brands that did adopt native checkout, the implications are wide-reaching:

• Commerce Manager configurations tied to native checkout will need to be restructured.
• Ads with product tags and CTA buttons will no longer support in-app conversion.
• Return and fulfillment workflows managed within Meta’s system will shift back to merchant systems.
• On-platform metrics, like ROAS for in-app purchases, will lose fidelity or become obsolete.

In short, this isn’t just a UI update — it’s a structural shift that touches catalog logic, ad attribution, and post-purchase operations.

Meta Shops are going full “link in bio”

With native checkout out of the picture, Facebook and Instagram Shops are effectively becoming enhanced product galleries — with outbound links as the new default.

Each product page will now serve as a visual touchpoint, leading shoppers off-platform to complete their purchase. In practice, this makes Meta Shops function more like Pinterest Shopping: discovery happens in the feed, but conversion happens on your site.

For advertisers, that changes the stakes. Your product feed links now need to do more heavy lifting:

• URLs must be accurate and consistently deep-linked to product variant pages.
• Mobile optimization matters, since all outbound clicks will land in mobile browsers.
• Ad creative and copy should reflect that the purchase will happen off-platform.

It’s a shift back to classic DTC mechanics — but with new expectations for precision and performance.

What to change in your product feed setup today

If you’re currently using Meta’s native checkout, your product feed needs immediate attention. External checkout flows require precise, flexible feed logic — especially when your campaign performance now hinges on what happens after the click.

Start with these steps:

1. Audit your checkout URLs

Make sure every product in your catalog links to the correct page on your site. This includes variant-specific URLs, not just base product pages.

2. Update UTM parameters

Outbound links are your new tracking surface. Add or adjust UTM tags to preserve attribution and funnel clarity in GA4 or your preferred analytics platform.

3. Use feed rules to clean up or replace fields

If your feed still includes fields tailored for native checkout (like platform-specific CTAs or logic paths), now’s the time to phase them out.

4. If you’re using GoDataFeed

Implement conditional rules to strip deprecated fields and ensure link consistency across variants. Retest any logic tied to product options or mobile experiences to confirm they align with your on-site structure.

Don’t panic — but don’t wait either

Meta sunsetting native checkout isn’t a sign that Shops are failing — it’s just a strategic reset. What matters now is how quickly your brand can adapt.

With every product click leading to your site, you regain control over the customer journey. That’s an opportunity — not a burden. You can:

• Capture better data with your own analytics stack
• Optimize post-click user experience for mobile and intent-driven flows
• Drive upsells or bundles that were impossible in the in-app experience

But this opportunity has a shelf life. If your site isn’t ready — if your pages are slow, if your checkout is clunky, if your feeds are off — then you’ll lose the advantage.

This shift puts the spotlight back on fundamentals. Merchants who act now to clean up their data, audit their links, and refine their post-click paths will be the ones still winning in Meta’s new shopping ecosystem.

If you need help migrating your data during the transition, let’s talk.