Twitter Testing Shopping Card eCommerce Feature

Twitter is getting into the social shopping scene with a “Shop” button prominently displayed on some tweets, TechCrunch reported on Thursday (March 4).

The new concept will integrate merchandise information as part of the tweet and link to an eCommerce store. The tweet card will include the name of the shop, product, and price.

The concept idea was first spotted by social media consultant Matt Navarra, who tweeted screenshots of the experience, per TechCrunch. 

Twitter told TechCrunch that the tweet is an example of the eCommerce-focused tweets the social media platform is planning.

The company is also looking into becoming a creator platform and is launching a “Super Follow” subscription, which would give subscribers exclusive benefits and content as well as discounts. There could also be “shoppable” tweets that would give creators the power to direct fans to merchandise.

Plans for eCommerce were hinted at during Twitter’s Investor Day last week. “We’re…starting to explore ways to better support commerce on Twitter,” said Twitter Revenue Lead Bruce Falck during the event, per TechCrunch.

Falck said that people talk about their favorite brands on Twitter, and some businesses have already started integrating sales into tweets. He told investors the concept is still in its infancy stages.

“This demand gives us confidence in the power of combining real-time conversation with an engaged and intentional audience. Imagine easily discovering, and quickly purchasing, a new skincare product or trendy sneaker from a brand you follow with only a few clicks,” Falck said, per TechCrunch.

Twitter announced last month that it was exploring a subscription product to lessen its reduce its dependency on paid advertising. One idea would let users tip people they follow in exchange for exclusive content. 

Pinterest and Snap are also looking into new ways to monetize. Pinterest said four million new users have used the platform monthly due to the pandemic. Snapchat ended the quarter with 265 million active users.