In a recent blog post, the social media giant revealed that its commerce initiatives are created to make it as straightforward as possible for businesses to connect with (and sell to) customers on Twitter. “This exciting partnership with Twitter streamlines another purchasing process, removing steps and barriers to drive higher conversion”. With the service, users can buy products right from a tweet or browse from a collection of items – without leaving Twitter. Merchants can also list their products on Stripe Relay to share and sell products.
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While it’s now available to millions of merchants, the Buy button will likely take a while before rolling out to mainstream adoption.
Earlier this month, Twitter announced a partnership with another e-commerce platform, Stripe, as part of a test to allow people to buy products via the social network. Brands are building direct relationships with consumers and they’re using platforms to build those direct relationships.
So far the company has not provided details of how the original “buy” buttons have fared, but it is telling that they did not get any mention in the company’s Q2 earnings call. One of the first Demandware clients to enable the Twitter “Buy Now” button is PacSun, a leading action sports and lifestyle specialty retailer.
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Canada-based Shopify has introduced similar buttons for Pinterest and Facebook. It also comes on the heels of reports that Twitter was already preparing to partner with at least two of them back in August. “Partnering with Twitter and using the Demandware open APIs, Twitter Buy Now will give our retailers a new tool to engage with customers and drive purchases”, said Tom Ebling, chief executive officer at Demandware, in a statement. Social media is the next frontier of this democratization – an increasingly mobile and social customer presents a new challenge, and a great opportunity, for retailers and brand owners to extend the buying experience for impulse purchases during social interactions.
