Instagram’s communicative and content-production capacities have facilitated the emergence of a new form of street vending in which economic activity extends beyond physical space into the virtual sphere. Street-vendor vloggers, as an emerging category of street vendors, continue to face the conventional challenges of street vending while utilizing Instagram to redefine and expand their occupational activities.

Using a qualitative approach and thematic analysis, this study examines the nature and dimensions of this emerging form of street vending. Data were collected through in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 13 popular street-vendor vloggers operating in Rasht Cultural Pedestrian Walkway, selected through purposive and theoretical sampling. The findings indicate that “performative street vending,” as the dominant pattern of activity, is structured around four interrelated themes: attracting attention, sustained communication, gaining recognition, and the spatial dualization of the vending stall.

The findings further demonstrate that Instagram, by facilitating engaging content production, continuous audience interaction, and broader visibility, has transformed the conventional boundaries of street vending. Vendors can now maintain a simultaneous presence in the physical space of the pedestrian walkway and the virtual space of Instagram. Consequently, street vending has evolved from a predominantly face-to-face economic practice into a performative, communicative, and multi-spatial activity. This dual presence enables street-vendor vloggers to remain “present everywhere and accessible at all times,” creating greater opportunities for visibility, audience engagement, customer retention, and the expansion of their economic activities.