Twitter has announced that it will be introducing Twitter Shops, an all-new shopping feature that will allow merchant users to curate a collection of products that they can showcase and sell via their Twitter profiles. According to the company, the new feature will be free to use but will limit users to a total of 50 products per account.
Differing slightly from Instagram's Shops feature, Twitter Shops will not be native to the app. Instead, the actual transaction will take place on the merchant's websites after a user has picked what they would like to purchase within Twitter.
Overall, the new feature sees Twitter continuing to build out its e-commerce offerings. For example, at the tail end of 2021, the company launched a live stream shopping platform, partnering with Walmart as its first beta tester. Before that, Twitter had introduced its Shop Module feature last summer.
Social Media Shopping Features
Twitter Announces Launch of New E-Commerce Feature, Twitter Shops
Trend Themes
1. Social Media E-commerce - Twitter's launch of Twitter Shops demonstrates the increasing trend of social media platforms integrating e-commerce features to provide a convenient shopping experience for users.
2. Curated Collections - Twitter's Twitter Shops trend showcases a growing interest in curated collections that enable merchants to showcase a select number of products to their followers.
3. External Transactions - The trend towards external transactions, showcased by Twitter's Twitter Shops, allows merchants to maintain a streamlined sales process by keeping purchases on their own website.
Industry Implications
1. Social Media - The social media industry can leverage the trend of integrating e-commerce features like Twitter Shops to offer a more diverse set of offerings to their users.
2. Retail Industry - Businesses in the retail industry can incorporate Twitter Shops to expand their sales channels and introduce their products to a wider customer base via social media.
3. Web Development Industry - The trend towards external transactions highlighted by Twitter's Twitter Shops presents opportunities for web developers to integrate e-commerce capabilities for businesses looking to streamline their sales process.