10 Instagram Video Marketing Statistics You Need to Know in 2026

Instagram now has 3 billion monthly active users, and video is taking a larger share of what people watch, share, and buy from on the platform. For marketers, the most useful numbers are the ones that change a production decision in 2026.

So I pulled together the 10 Instagram statistics that matter most in 2026, with a focus on Reels, video viewing, advertising, engagement, and purchase behavior. Each one comes with the context I would want before using it in a brief or planning a campaign.

At Yum Yum Videos, we produce marketing and explainer videos for businesses. I have kept the commentary here focused on the numbers that affect format, creative, and production decisions.

For the current list, I went back to the original source whenever possible. Most of the figures come from Meta and Instagram, with a few large studies where the methodology or sample size is available.

At the end, I also kept a separate historical section with statistics from the first version of this article in 2019. I keep them separate from the current benchmarks because they describe a very different version of Instagram, but the comparison shows how far the platform moved toward Stories, video, and Reels.

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

Sensor Tower data reported by CNBC found that Reels accounted for 46% of the time U.S. users spent on Instagram in 2025. In 2024, the figure was 37%.

That nine point jump means Reels went from just over a third of Instagram time in 2024 to almost half in 2025. Photos, Stories, and carousels still have a role, but Reels now takes a much larger share of attention than it did only a few years ago.

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

More than 50% of Instagram ads ran on Reels in 2025, compared with 35% in 2024.

For brands producing commercial ads, that changes the production brief. Creative built around square or horizontal placements now has to work inside a vertical environment where viewers move quickly through the feed.

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

Meta reported that Reels watch time increased by more than 30% year over year in the U.S. during Q4 2025.

Reels was already taking a large share of Instagram usage, yet watch time still grew by more than 30% at the end of the year. That combination supports recurring Reels production.

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

Meta says Reels are reshared more than 4.5 billion times every day across its platforms.

A reshare gives a Reel another path to reach people outside the account that posted it. Direct messages, group chats, and personal recommendations can carry the video well beyond its original feed distribution.

The 4.5 billion figure covers Meta’s platforms, so it should not be treated as an Instagram only total.

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

An Instagram for Business survey found that 79% of respondents said they had purchased a product or service after watching Reels. The cited page does not publish the sample size or methodology, so I would treat the figure as directional rather than a universal benchmark.

A product Reel can show the item in use, place it in context, or answer a question that often comes up before purchase.

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

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

Meta’s test compared two creative formats inside the same Reels placement, and vertical video with audio produced the lower cost per action.

Teams repurposing horizontal footage should plan the 9:16 version before the edit is finished. A full screen Reel needs more than a last minute crop.

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.

The result applies specifically to catalog product video, so its scope is narrow. In this test, product footage worked particularly well when Reels was tied directly to shopping and conversion.

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

Socialinsider’s Instagram video benchmark, based on 11 million posts, found the highest engagement and average views among Reels between 60 and 90 seconds.

Treat the 60 to 90 second result as a benchmark. A simple product reveal may need much less time, while an educational video can justify more.

Short form can run longer than ten or fifteen seconds when the idea needs it. Length should follow the amount of information the viewer actually needs.

9. Reels Influenced 81% of Product Discovery Among Users in a 2026 India Study

Meta’s 2026 India study found that Reels influenced 81% of product discovery among the users surveyed.

In the same research, Reels influenced 66% of product consideration and 47% of purchases.

Meta ran this study in India, so the results are specific to that market and sample. Within that group, Reels appeared at several stages of the buying journey, from discovery through consideration and 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.

The broader video figure reinforces the Reels data above. People are spending more time with video on Instagram, and Reels is taking a larger share of both viewing and ad inventory.

For marketers, the next decision is format: which type of video fits the objective, placement, and audience.

What the 2026 Instagram Data Shows

Taken together, the ten figures show how much Instagram has shifted toward video. Reels grew from 37% to 46% of the time U.S. users spent on Instagram between 2024 and 2025, more than half of Instagram ads ran on Reels in 2025, and Reels watch time still grew by more than 30% year over year in Q4. Overall Instagram video time also increased by more than 20% globally during Q2 2025. For a marketing team, Reels now deserves a planned production cadence.

The creative data is more specific. Meta’s 9:16 test produced a 34.5% lower cost per action for vertical video with audio than for image ads on Reels, while catalog product video generated 33% higher incremental conversions in its test. Socialinsider’s 11 million post benchmark also found the strongest engagement and average views among Reels between 60 and 90 seconds. These are useful starting points for a brief, then the account’s own watch time, engagement, and conversion data should decide what stays in the plan.

Two figures need tighter context when they are reused. Meta’s 4.5 billion daily reshares figure covers its platforms, not Instagram alone. The 81% product discovery figure comes from a study in India, so it describes that market and sample rather than a global Instagram average.

Looking Back: Historical Instagram Video and Marketing Statistics

The figures below come from earlier versions of this article and are here for comparison.

Keep each figure tied to its original year and source. The studies use different countries, samples, and measurement methods, so direct comparisons with the 2025 and 2026 data can be misleading. Together, they show what marketers were measuring before Reels became central to the platform.

Instagram Growth and Demographics

• July 2018: Instagram reached 1 billion monthly active users worldwide, up from 800 million roughly a year earlier.
• 2021: Pew data showed that 39% of U.S. adult women and 30% of U.S. adult men used Instagram.
• 2016: Pew Research Center found that 59% of online adults ages 18 to 29 used Instagram, compared with 33% of those ages 30 to 49.
• 2015: A Pew Research Center study reported that 25% of smartphone owners used Instagram, and 38% of Instagram users checked the platform multiple times a day.

Those figures describe a much earlier version of Instagram, when its growth among younger users was one of the main stories around the platform.

Early Instagram Shopping and Business Use

• 2017: Business Insider reported that 72% of Instagram users had purchased a product they first saw on the app.
• 2021: Instagram for Business reported that 90% of Instagram accounts followed at least one business, while 83% of users said Instagram helped them discover new products or services.
• 2020 and 2021: One third of the most viewed Instagram Stories came from businesses.

The language around social commerce was different then, but these numbers help explain why Instagram kept adding more shopping, advertising, and product discovery features over the following years.

Historical Instagram Video and Stories Benchmarks

• 2020: Sprout Social reported that around 60% of users logged in at least once a day and spent an average of 28 minutes on Instagram daily.
• 2020: Mention’s Instagram engagement report found that video posts received 38% more engagement than photos.
• 2017: Single video layouts represented 25% of Instagram ads in one advertising benchmark.
• 2017: Instagram reported that the average time spent watching video on the platform had increased by more than 80% year over year. The number of videos shared each day had also increased fourfold.
• 2016: An Animoto survey found that 53.4% of marketers considered Instagram video important to their marketing strategies.
• 2021: HubSpot reported that posts using 9 to 12 hashtags produced the highest reach in the dataset it analyzed.

Instagram reported an 80% increase in video watch time back in 2017, years before Reels existed. By 2025, Reels alone accounted for 46% of the time U.S. users spent on Instagram. The two figures capture how much the platform changed over that period.

If you reuse any older statistic from this section, keep the year attached to it. A 2017 Instagram benchmark and a 2026 Reels benchmark describe very different versions of the platform.