10 Instagram Video Marketing Statistics You Need to Know in 2026

With 3 billion monthly active users, Instagram is one of the largest social platforms in the world, and video has become a major part of how people discover, watch, and share content on the app.

For businesses, Instagram has long been an important part of a social media strategy. Its visual nature makes it a great place to build familiarity, show your brand’s personality, and connect with potential customers through images, Stories, and, increasingly, short-form video.

We’ve been running an animated explainer video company for more than 14 years, so we’ve been watching the growth of online video for a long time. During that time, we’ve seen platforms change, formats come and go, and video become a much bigger part of the way brands communicate online. Instagram is one of the clearest examples of that shift.

For this article, we compiled some of the most important Instagram video statistics for 2026. We also took the time to check the original sources behind each number, so the statistics included here come from Meta and Instagram, reputable research companies, or large studies with a clear methodology.

Here’s what the latest data tells us about video on Instagram today.

1. Reels Accounted for 46% of Time Spent on Instagram in the U.S. in 2025

In 2025, Reels accounted for 46% of the time U.S. users spent on Instagram, up from 37% in 2024, according to Sensor Tower data reported by CNBC.

That is a pretty big jump in just one year. It also means that nearly half of the time Americans spend on Instagram now goes to its short-form video format.

Photos, Stories, and other types of content are still an important part of the platform, of course. But when it comes to where people are actually spending their time, Reels has clearly become a major part of the Instagram experience.

2. More Than 50% of Instagram Ads Ran on Reels in 2025

The shift toward short-form video is also showing up in advertising. More than 50% of all Instagram ads ran on Reels in 2025, compared with 35% in 2024.

That is a significant change in a single year and a good indication of how quickly advertisers have adapted to the way people are using Instagram. For brands producing commercial ads, it also shows how important short-form video has become as part of the advertising mix.

3. Instagram Reels Watch Time Grew More Than 30% Year Over Year in the U.S.

Reels is already taking up a large share of the time people spend on Instagram, but its growth does not appear to be slowing down. According to Meta, Reels watch time increased by more than 30% year over year in the U.S. during Q4 2025.

That is especially interesting when you look at it next to the previous statistics. Reels had already become one of the main ways people use Instagram, yet watch time was still growing at more than 30% by the end of the year.

For businesses, that makes video increasingly difficult to ignore. The audience is already there, and people are still spending more time watching it.

4. Reels Are Reshared More Than 4.5 Billion Times Every Day

According to Meta, Reels are reshared more than 4.5 billion times every day across its platforms.

That number says a lot about the way people consume short-form video. Reels are not just watched and forgotten; people actively send them to friends, family, and other users, giving good content the chance to travel well beyond the audience that first sees it.

5. 79% of People Surveyed Purchased a Product or Service After Watching Reels

According to Instagram, 79% of people surveyed said they had purchased a product or service after watching Reels.

That is a strong reminder that Instagram video is not only about views or engagement. A well-made product video can help people see what a product does, understand why it might be useful, and ultimately feel more confident about buying it.

6. 9:16 Video With Audio Delivered 34.5% Lower CPA Than Image Ads on Reels

According to Meta, 9:16 video with audio delivered 34.5% lower cost per action than image ads on Reels, on average.

It is a good reminder that creating content specifically for the platform usually performs better than simply repurposing assets made for somewhere else. On Instagram, vertical video is no longer just a recommendation—it’s quickly becoming the standard.

7. Catalog Product Videos Generated 33% Higher Incremental Conversions

Meta found that campaigns using catalog product video in the Reels placement generated 33% higher incremental conversions than campaigns that did not use the feature.

While this statistic specifically refers to catalog ads, the takeaway is broader: helping people better understand a product through video can have a real impact on conversion, especially when the content is built for mobile-first viewing.

8. In a Study of 11 Million Posts, Reels Between 60 and 90 Seconds Generated the Highest Engagement and Average Views

In a study of 11 million Instagram posts, Reels between 60 and 90 seconds generated the highest engagement and average views.

That probably is not a coincidence. Around one minute is often enough to explain an idea without losing the viewer’s attention. The same principle is why the ideal explainer video length usually falls within a similar range.

9. Reels Influenced 81% of Product Discovery Among Users

According to Meta, Reels influenced 81% of product discovery among users in its 2026 India study. The same research found that Reels influenced 66% of product consideration and 47% of purchases.

The figures come from a specific market, so they should not be treated as global averages. Still, they show how short-form video can support several stages of the buying journey, from first discovery to the final purchase.

10. Instagram Video Time Increased More Than 20% Year Over Year

Meta reported that overall Instagram video time increased by more than 20% year over year globally during Q2 2025.

Taken together with the other statistics in this article, the trend is pretty clear. People are spending more time watching video, advertisers are investing more heavily in short-form content, and businesses are increasingly using video to educate, promote, and sell.

Looking Back: Historical Instagram Video & Marketing Statistics

While staying on top of real-time trends is essential for any modern marketer, taking a step back to analyze historical data offers invaluable insights. Tracking past benchmarks allows us to see exactly how user behavior evolved, how the algorithm shifted toward video-first content, and how consumer habits stabilized over time. Looking at these older data points provides a clear roadmap of where the platform has been and why it functions the way it does today.

• July 2018: The platform officially crossed a massive milestone when 1 billion active users were recorded worldwide, climbing up rapidly from 800 million just a year prior.
• In 2021: Shifting demographics showed a changing landscape as the U.S. adult user base recorded 39% women and 30% men, steadily narrowing its historical gender gap.
• In 2016: Youth culture dominated the app, with data showing around 59% of online adults aged 18–29 used Instagram—nearly doubling the 30–49 demographic (33%).
• In 2015: A classic Pew Research Center study revealed that 25% of all smartphone owners used the app, with 38% checking the platform multiple times a day.
• In 2017: Early commercial indicators proved the platform’s high intent, showing that 72% of Instagram users purchased a product they originally saw on the app.
• In 2020: Daily engagement metrics compiled by Sprout Social proved how addictive the feed had become, indicating that around 60% of users log in at least once a day while spending an average of 28 minutes browsing daily.
• A 2020 benchmark found that video posts received 38% more engagement than photos, while a later 2021 source placed the difference at 21%. Because these figures came from different studies, they should not be treated as directly comparable.
• By 2021: The commercial nature of the app became undeniable as official metrics from Instagram for Business revealed that 90% of Instagram accounts actively follow a business on Instagram, while 83% of users said Instagram helped them discover new products or services. solidifying its reputation for organic brand discovery.
• In 2020 and 2021, one-third of the most-viewed Instagram Stories came from businesses.
• In 2017: Video advertising started picking up speed, with single video layouts making up 25% of Instagram ads as brands realized audiences preferred moving visuals over standard images.
• In 2017: Consumption patterns changed heavily when the platform recorded a massive 80% year-overyear increase in user watch time, documented by early video marketing deep-dives like Linearity. 
• In 2016: Marketing strategies felt a massive push as an Animoto survey revealed that 53.4% of marketers considered Instagram video important to their marketing strategies.
• In 2021: Short-form, disappearing content proved its dominance, with Teleprompter noting that 70% of active users watched Stories daily, with a strong 50% preference specifically for funny, entertaining content.
• In 2021: Value-driven formats led the pack as educational how-to tutorials emerged globally as the most successful type of video content on the platform, according to visual performance insights by Gantter.
• In 2021: Content optimization guidelines published by HubSpot demonstrated that strategizing posts to feature between 9-12 hashtags yielded the absolute highest boost in reach and organic visibility.
• In 2021: Transitioning to a creative audiovisual layout became vital for brand algorithms, as targeted video posts generated 21% more engagement than traditional static photos, according to data from Fishtank Agency.