POV: Twitter Live Shopping

Background:

Twitter is launching a new Live Shopping feature this weekend in a test with the US retailer Walmart.

Details and Implications:

After earlier tests of a Shop Module in July that gave brands and retailers a way to showcase their products directly on their Twitter profiles, Live Shopping is the latest commerce function being launched on the platform.

The Twitter Live Shopping experience is kicking off with a test with US retailer, Walmart, this Sunday with a ‘Cyber Deals Live’ shopping event hosted by Jason Derulo and featuring ‘surprise special guests’. Walmart has continuously used ‘live shopping’ for its ecommerce efforts, having hosted multiple livestream events across different platforms including TikTok and YouTube, and so becoming the first retailer to test the latest feature on Twitter and compare it to other platforms makes a lot of sense.

When announcing the event earlier this week, Twitter said: “Live video has been transforming the way we shop for years. Earlier this year we announced our plans to better support shopping on Twitter, and today we’re excited to announce the next step in that journey: Live Shopping.” The Walmart Cyber Deals Live show described as “a 30-minute variety show highlighting electronics, home goods, apparel, seasonal décor, surprise special guests and much more”.

The Live Shopping feature includes a live broadcast that streams at the top of a Live Event page along with a Shoppable Banner and a Shop Tab where the products that are shown in the livestream will be available to buy.                             .

Twitter has said that to keep the experience as seamless as possible for users it will make it possible to toggle back and forth between the ‘Latest’ tab and the ‘Shop’ tab during the event as consumers take a look at the products available to buy.

When a user wants to make a purchase, they will be directed to the retailer’s website within an in-app browser as the livestream will continue to be broadcast, allowing the user to continue to listen to the event as it happens in the background. There will also be a text box available so consumers can tweet about the livestream with a suggested hashtag.

Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook all already have shoppable capabilities in their live functions on their platforms. Predictions for this year’s Black Friday shopping event (happening this weekend) have suggested that the rise in social commerce, including things such as the new Twitter Live Shopping experience, will play an important role.

Summary:

Live Shopping and social commerce are booming, whether it works on the Twitter platform and with the Twitter audience will be the big test – Walmart will find out this weekend.

Further Reading

TechCrunch | AdAge | Twitter