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.