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Twitter plays catch-up with e-commerce feature

Sibahle Malinga
By Sibahle Malinga, ITWeb senior news journalist.
Johannesburg, 29 Jul 2021

Twitter is testing Shop Module, a new shopping feature that allows users to shop directly from a brand's profile.

The social media platform enters the e-commerce market in a bid to equal its rivals − Instagram Checkout, Facebook Marketplace and Shopify − which have been in the e-commerce market for years now.

The global online shopping boom has led to a significant increase in users, particularly those in the Generation Z category, turning to social media platforms to shop, mainly via their smartphones.

The Shop Module feature is a dedicated space at the top of a profile where businesses can showcase their products.

“As one of our first steps forward, we’re launching a pilot of the Shop Module − a feature that allows us to explore how shoppable profiles can create a pathway from talking about and discovering products on Twitter, to actually purchasing them,” says Bruce Falck, revenue product lead at Twitter.

“When users visit a profile with the Shop Module enabled, they can scroll through the carousel of products and tap through on a single product to learn more, and purchase seamlessly in an in-app browser, without having to leave Twitter.”

Still in the early stages of testing, Shop Module is currently available for a handful of brands in the US, for English users of iOS devices. It will be made available across the globe at a later stage.

“As we learn, we’re creating deeper partnerships with businesses that reflect whom we’re building for, with a new merchant advisory board.

“The board will consist of brands that have established themselves as best-in-class examples of merchants on Twitter. With their partnership, we hope to more easily address the needs of businesses of any size or vertical in our product innovation,” adds Falck.

According to Twitter, the Shop Module builds on the company’s efforts around Professional Profiles, introduced earlier this year.

With modular components for Professional Profiles, businesses across the globe will have access to customised profiles with features intended to help drive engagement and business outcomes, notes Falck.

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