Twitter Roles Out In-Tweet purchases “Buy Button”

September 8, 2014Advertising, Business, Social Media291 Comments

Twitter announced today that it will begin to role out a test aimed at a select group of subscribers

Twitter announced today that it will begin to role out a test aimed at a select group of subscribers who will begin receiving options to buy from a few dozen brands, recording artists, and nonprofits. Pilot brands and personalities include Brad Paisley, Burberry, Demi Lovato, Home Depot, and Panic at the Disco.

Tarun Jain shared the announcement on the Twitter blog describing the test as an early step toward turning Twitter into a functional commerce platform. Tweets from brands will present both Android and iOS users with exclusive offers. Once they tap on an initial buy button, they’re taken to another screen with larger product presentation and pricing information (see below). Pressing a second buy button on this page sends the buyer to a confirm screen and the transaction submitted to the merchant.

Individuals’ payment and shipping information will be encrypted and stored in Twitter’s database for use in subsequent transactions. Twitter will not note purchases on subscribers’ timelines or profiles. At this point, Twitter says that personally identifiable information obtained from purchasers will be shared only with the merchants filling their requests. You can read more about their security and privacy policies here.

“This is targeted right at direct-response advertisers and brands as we head into the all-important Q4,” says Dayna Moon, senior director of  social at 3Q Digital. “With this release, I think you can expect to see a slight shift in budgets — especially if the handful of test users show good results.”