Twitter Tests Buy Button For Purchasing Directly From Tweets
One of the biggest dilemmas facing the decision makers at Twitter is how to turn a highly popular microblogging platform into a money generating machine. Integrating ads is one answer, though it's not the only one. In the near future, you might see a "buy" button inviting you to purchase goods and services from tweets posted to the social network.
How will it work? To begin with, Twitter is reportedly partnering with payments company Stripe Inc. to save credit card details so that a person can purchase an item with a just a couple clicks.
"We want to be a bridge between a consumer wanting something and getting it," Nathan Hubbard, Twitter's head of commerce, told Bloomberg in an interview. "Conversations are happening every second on Twitter with artists and charities and consumers, and many of those conversations are leading to transactions already."
In a way, this is still a form of advertising, though it's an evolved form. It's about convenience, both for the user and advertiser. Success may not come easily, however. Facebook has been attempting something similar on its own social network, and you may recall that it dabbled with Facebook credits at one point. Those have been discontinued, and Facebook also said it plans to stop prompting users to send friends and family digital gift cards on special occasions like birthdays.
One thing working in Twitter's favor is that it has some experience with e-commerce. The company partnered with Amazon back in May to offer a joint service allowing users to shop for items by hashtag. Twitter also purchased Cardspring Inc., a service that lets users redeem deals and discounts through tweets.
How will it work? To begin with, Twitter is reportedly partnering with payments company Stripe Inc. to save credit card details so that a person can purchase an item with a just a couple clicks.
"We want to be a bridge between a consumer wanting something and getting it," Nathan Hubbard, Twitter's head of commerce, told Bloomberg in an interview. "Conversations are happening every second on Twitter with artists and charities and consumers, and many of those conversations are leading to transactions already."
In a way, this is still a form of advertising, though it's an evolved form. It's about convenience, both for the user and advertiser. Success may not come easily, however. Facebook has been attempting something similar on its own social network, and you may recall that it dabbled with Facebook credits at one point. Those have been discontinued, and Facebook also said it plans to stop prompting users to send friends and family digital gift cards on special occasions like birthdays.
One thing working in Twitter's favor is that it has some experience with e-commerce. The company partnered with Amazon back in May to offer a joint service allowing users to shop for items by hashtag. Twitter also purchased Cardspring Inc., a service that lets users redeem deals and discounts through tweets.
