Written by Fernando Maciá
Today, many traditional businesses have turned to e-commerce. In addition, there are more and more stores that only sell their products online. It was inevitable that social networks would join this e-commerce boom.
Twitter wants to capitalize on e-commerce as a microblogging network.
Thanks to the great reception and the growing number of young users that this social network has, Twitter has seen the potential that this leap would have. Therefore, rumor has it that Twitter could use the services offered by an online store incorporating them into its own network, this strategy would be carried out through the creation of a new company called Twitter Commerce.
Twitter has not confirmed the information
As of today, Twitter has neither confirmed nor denied this news. It was the specialized technology newspaper Re/Code, which was responsible for spreading this information, even publishing images of how e-commerce could be implemented on Twitter. The photographs were first circulated on the U.S. online store Fancy.
In that sense, as we have already mentioned, in the absence of official confirmation, this news does not seem so far-fetched, as Twitter will soon be partnering with Fancy.
One of the main suspicions that could confirm the facts are the data published by The Telegraph newspaper, which cites information obtained through leaked documents. The Telegraph points out that Jack Dorsey, founder of the microblogging network Twitter, is also an investor and director of this online store.
It should also be noted that conjectures of Twitter’s possible leap into e-commerce increased since Twitter in 2013 conducted an experiment with which it collaborated with American Express, called “pay-per-tweet”.
If the reports are confirmed, we will have to wait and see if this strategy strengthens Twitter after its IPO and makes it earn additional profits.
How would e-commerce work on Twitter?
Through the images published by Re/Code we can get a glimpse of how Twitter would include this service.
Twitter would introduce in its Time Line tweets that would be used to buy the product offered through a process very similar to that of any online store.
An item could also be purchased by viewing a picture of the item by clicking on “buy with Fancy”.
Another possibility for shopping via Twitter would be through the use of the #Discover tab, where messages including product offers could be displayed when users search for their hashtags. In this way, by entering this hashtag they would obtain a commercial message in accordance with the product they are looking for.
Another rumor circulating around the network is that each commercial tweet would offer data on the followers of each account that have purchased that item. This would be a very beneficial tool for online businesses, as it would boost social shopping, due to this combination of the advantages offered by a social network and the great possibilities of online shopping.
When you click on the commercial tweet, a series of information about the product offered will appear in a brief form, such as photos of the item for sale, other similar products, a description…
As for how to pay for these online purchases through Twitter, you simply have to fill in a form with your personal data and the chosen payment method. Twitter would be able to store all this information securely for the peace of mind of its users. In this sense, Twitter could be finalizing negotiations with the payment service provider, Stripe, which would be in charge of processing payment transactions in a protected and trusted scenario for users.
Of course, as with most online stores, the customer would also be able to see the progress of his purchase and the status of the shipment.
Thanks to this strategy, the sales of the Fancy online store could increase considerably, making it a great business opportunity.
Twitter, not the first
Twitter is not the only social network that thought it would be very profitable to join forces with e-commerce. Facebook already developed in 2012 a strategy very similar to the one rumored to be implemented by Twitter.
The service offered by Facebook consisted of offering its users the possibility of purchasing products on their personal page. Unfortunately, this approach was not well received and the social network finally eliminated the service.
Pinterest also joined the e-commerce craze, incorporating the Now Trending tool for all those online stores interested in this service. This strategy has been very successful and many e-commerce companies have implemented it with very positive results.
Will Twitter launch into e-commerce? Some time ago there were already rumors along these lines, however, Twitter never commented on the matter.
So if finally, Twitter assures that the news published by Re/Code is true we will have to wait to see if the new tactic of the social network succeeds as it did with Pinterest or if it fails as it did with Facebook.
