New on Twitter: A “Buy” Button That Supports Instant Sales
Twitter launched an exciting new tool for digital marketers this week: a new “buy” button that allows users to make purchases straight from a tweet. Billions of dollars in online sales are already generated via social media, but this is a more integrated approach. By embedding the new tool directly in the tweet, customers can react faster to a tempting offer, and seal the deal in just a few taps. Up until now they’ve had to click through to another website to initiate the purchase.
This is a great opportunity for businesses targeting busy, tech-savvy moms, customers will little time to surf and browse online shopping sites, but have made a habit of scanning their Twitter feeds. These are the fans that already follow your brand. They are connected, in a personal, in some ways more intimate way. They are ready and willing to pounce on special deals but are more likely to pull the trigger if they can do so with one click. This new Buy button promises to help translate that interest into real revenue.
Twitter’s vast audience of more than 270 million users is well primed for this sort of activity. According to a recent report by GlobalWebIndex, 75% of 16- to 64-year-olds who described themselves as active on Twitter had made an online purchase in the last month compared to 67% of all Internet users. Those who use Twitter are also more comfortable overall with the notion of buying things on a mobile device, according to the report, shared by Mediabistro’s All Twitter site.
Twitter’s commerce play—call it in-tweet shopping—was announced on Monday on the company’s blog. “Users will get access to offers and merchandise they can’t get anywhere else, and act on them right in the Twitter apps for Android and iOS,” the post reads. “Sellers will gain a new way to turn the direct relationship they build with their followers into sales.” For now, the option is only available to a limited number of users in the U.S., but there are plans for expansion.
Retailers who at participating in the public test so far include Burberry and Home Depot; musicians such as Demi Lovato, Pharrell Williams and Keith Urban are also on board, as well as nonprofits GLAAD, Global Citizen, and others seeking new ways to raise funds for their causes. Offers from additional brands and artists are “coming soon,” promises Twitter. The marketing platforms Fancy, Musictoday and Gumroad will be working with sellers on product presentation and order fulfillment.
On the same day that Twitter made the announcement, (Red), a nonprofit that sells co-branded products to support AIDS research, tweeted about a $75 limited-edition T-shirt signed by David Guetta that could be purchased using the new tool.
The first time a user clicks through a tweet to buy something, she’ll have to plug in a shipping address and credit card number, information that can be encrypted and stored by Twitter for future use, making the process even faster next time. Watch this short video clip that explains the feature.