Twitter tests e-commerce with new way to make purchases

Twitter is the latest social platform to look to find its footing in the growing e-commerce space, introducing today a new feature that makes it easier for users to buy products directly from the profiles of businesses. The Shop Module, which is launching as a pilot in the U.S., lets businesses put a scrollable showcase of products at the top of their Twitter profile, and gives businesses a more direct way to reach customers from within Twitter. Users can scroll horizontally through the carousel of products and can tap on a product to learn more or make a purchase. Purchases can be completed from within the app through Twitter’s in-app browser. Making the entire transaction possible from within the Twitter app also helps keep users on the platform, which gives Twitter insight into user purchases. The company says this is not its focus, which is on expanding its suite of tools for businesses. But for Twitter, building out the platform’s advertising capabilities could give the company a stronger position as first-party data becomes increasingly locked down due to moves from tech giants like Apple and Google that restrict advertising identifiers. Twitter says the feature is only available for Professional Profiles and will be tested with about 10 brands across lifestyle, retail, gaming and media companies, including GameStop and ArdenCove. During the test, the feature will be available to U.S. users running Twitter in English on iOS. The feature comes as Twitter tries to re-assert itself as a serious e-commerce player. In April, the social media platform announced several business and commerce-oriented changes to its platform, like “About” sections showing store hours and location. And in July, Ad Age reported on how Twitter plans to court direct-to-consumer brands with new ad formats, such as carousel ads for high-profile brands. Not all of its experiments have been successful. The company recently said it would end Twitter Fleets in August, its attempt at full-screen vertical video similar to TikTok and Snapchat. The format, which launched less than a year ago, was meant to give advertisers an option for full-screen ads that kept users' attention by filling up the screen and relying on sound.

Twitter tests e-commerce with new way to make purchases

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