Companies can showcase up to 50 products from their Twitter profile
Twitter is launching another experimental shopping feature, with in-app storefronts for brands and businesses. The feature, called Twitter Shops, builds on the “shop module” it launched last summer.
But while the shop module only allows companies to showcase a handful of products on their profile page, the latest update gives the stores a dedicated, full-screen space for up to 50 items. A handful of businesses have already enabled the shops, though the features are currently available to “hundreds” of brands, according to Twitter. The shops are only viewable for US Twitter users who use the app in English for now.
“With Twitter Shops, merchants can handpick a collection of up to 50 products to showcase to shoppers on Twitter. The feature, which is free to use, gives people the chance to view products from the profiles of their favorite brands, so when you talk about and discover products on the timeline, you can now browse them on Twitter, too,” said Twitter.
The most significant upgrade here is the capacity to showcase 50 products – with the Shop Module, businesses are limited to five products on display. Now, brands will have a lot more scope to share their offerings in the app, with users connected through to the merchant’s website to make a purchase when they click through on a Twitter Shop item.
While Twitter is billing the feature as an “experiment,” the company has hinted that it has much bigger ambitions in the space. The company said at its most recent analyst day presentation that it sees e-commerce as a major opportunity. Shopping also ties in nicely with Twitter’s recent embrace of monetization features for creators, and the company has piloted shopping features in livestreams.
