6th August 2021

POV: Twitter Tests Ecommerce Feature

Background:

Last week, Twitter began testing a new ecommerce feature, a Shop Module, that allows users to shop directly from business profiles.

Details and Implications:                                 

The latest ecommerce pilot from Twitter has launched in the US with a small number of businesses and consists of a shopping module at the top of their profiles. The Shop Module will give brands and businesses an opportunity to show their products directly to Twitter users who will be able to scroll through a product image carousel and tap through to the retailer’s website inside the Twitter app if they are interested in purchasing an item.

Only businesses with a Professional Profile are involved in the test; a feature Twitter began testing in April that gives publishes and creators the ability to display extra information on their profiles such as an address, phone number and operating hours. The Professional Profile is like a ‘Page’ on Facebook.

The shop module is part of a broader expansion of potential features that might eventually form part of Professional Profiles. At the moment, it is unclear whether these options will be free for businesses to use or if they will incur costs like Twitter Blue, its new paid subscription for add-on Tweet features such as an ‘undo’ button.

As other social platforms including Facebook and Instagram have expanded their offerings rapidly in recent months to turn their services into shopping destinations, Twitter is finding ways to expand its own offering. Only a few months ago it tested an ecommerce feature for Tweets that allowed profiles to link out to product pages.

In a blog post announcing the Shop module, Bruce Falck said: "Fundamentally, it'll give us the chance to keep learning about which shopping experiences people prefer on Twitter".

As for other updates on the platform, Twitter officially ended Fleets this week, its attempt at ephemeral ‘story-like’ content after it proved to be unpopular with users. However, it is simultaneously experimenting with features like the ‘Super Follow’ platform for creators that provides opportunities for paid content. It’s clear Twitter is expanding its offering in order to diversify its revenue streams and ecommerce is likely to play a large part in that.

Summary:

Twitter is unsurprisingly looking to capitalise on the boom in social commerce and exploring this space with the Shop Module. It will be interesting to see how Twitter develops its ecommerce offering and if this might be a good fit for brands and advertisers to reach their audiences.

Further Reading:

TechCrunch | Social Media Today | Business Insider

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