Twitter is testing out a new feature that allows users to sell products through their tweets. The “commerce feature,” which is currently available to only select partners, reportedly allows users to build an online storefront within their profiles.
With Twitter Shops, merchants can handpick a collection of up to 50 products to showcase to shoppers on Twitter. The feature, which is free to use, gives people the chance to view products from the profiles of their favorite brands. The feature is for now being tested in the USA.
“People are already talking about products on Twitter. We want Twitter Shops to be the home for merchants on Twitter where they can intentionally curate a catalog of products for their Twitter audience and build upon the product discussions already happening on our service by giving shoppers a point of action where a conversation can become a purchase”,. Justin Hoang, staff product manager at Twitter, and David Lie-Tjauw, product manager at Twitter, wrote in a company blog post.
As they continue to test out the feature, they will explore how to make Shops more discoverable; adding new ways for merchants to tell their brand story through their Shops; expanding the number of products merchants can showcase, and bringing Twitter Shops to more merchants and more people.
Twitter has serious ambitions to expand to the eCommerce business. It is already experimenting with live-streamed shopping, which lets people purchase clothing, accessories, and other items while watching live videos from the brand about the products.
