Twitter tests new e-commerce features for tweets

Twitter logo. Pic/AFP

Micro-blogging site Twitter said it is testing a new way to display tweets that link out to e-commerce product pages. With a new Twitter card format, the company is experimenting with tweets that include a big "Shop" button and integrate product details directly into the tweet itself, including the product name, shop name and product pricing, TechCrunch reported last week.

This format could potentially come into play as part of Twitter's larger push to become a creator platform, with its recently announced plans for a "Super Follow" subscription.

The new product will allow Twitter users to follow a particular account for subscriber-only perks like newsletters, exclusive content, a supporter badge and other deals and discounts.

A more "shoppable" tweet format could allow these creators to direct their fans to products and merchandise, perhaps, the report said. Twitter also briefly touched on its plans for future investments in e-commerce during its Investor Day last week, but not in great detail.

"We're starting to explore ways to better support commerce on Twitter,a said Twitter Revenue Lead, Bruce Falck, during the event. "We know people come to Twitter to interact with brands and discuss their favourite products. In fact, you may have even noticed some businesses already developing creative ways to enable sales on our platform," he explained.

According to Falck, this demand gives 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.

But he cautioned investors that while Twitter was "excited about the potential of commerce," it was still something that's in "very early exploration".

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