A new feature will allow select merchants in the US to showcase up to 50 products directly on their Twitter profiles.
This mobile storefront feature, which is free to use, will allow merchants to highlight a catalogue of products that can be purchased on their website.
It is currently in the testing phase and is available to US-based Twitter users using the iPhone app in English.
“Like all of our Twitter Shopping features – the Shop Module, Live Shopping, and our Shopping Manager – Twitter Shops is part of a larger effort to better support professionals of all kinds – from small businesses and creators to big brands – who come to Twitter to do business,” read the announcement on Twitter’s official blog.
So far, Twitter Shops has been enabled for brands like Verizon, Gay Pride Apparel, and Latinx In Power. It appears as a button in their Twitter profile that reads ‘View Shop’ just above their tweets. It allows users to peruse various hand-picked products directly on Twitter through a scroll-down feature, displaying name, pricing, description, and other details. Final purchases take place on the merchant’s website in an in-app browser.
Twitter has said it will not charge merchants for using the feature during the testing period.
“People are already talking about products on Twitter,” the announcement stated.
“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.”
After Instagram and TikTok’s very successful shopping features, Twitter Shops is the latest entrant in providing quick shopping experiences on social media. It is likely to expand to additional merchants and partners as the beta testing period continues.
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