Mehul DasJun 10, 2022 13:35:57 IST
Despite being one of the most popular social media platforms and microblogging site for over a decade, Twitter has struggled to be profitable for a long time. Recently, with the ongoing fiasco over Elon Musk’s takeover bid, Twitter’s revenue seems to be dipping. That is one of the reasons why the company’s share price has also dropped significantly.
To counter that Twitter is looking for new and sustainable revenue streams. One of the avenues that the social media platform is trying out is online shopping. Twitter is testing a new feature called Product Drops that will preview upcoming product releases from different merchants.
The new feature lets brands tease items before they go on sale, and users can sign up to be reminded before the release through in-app notifications. The idea is to eventually have a marketplace on Twitter, just like Instagram. As of now though, the feature is limited just to setting reminders.
“With Product Drops, when a merchant Tweets about an upcoming launch, you will see a ‘Remind me’ button at the bottom of the Tweet,” the company said in a blogpost.
With one tap, users can request to be reminded of the drop.
Instagram’s revenue and profitability soared when they started their shopping program and allowed brands to integrate direct buying links on their posts.
On launch day, users will get an in-app notification in their Notifications tab 15 minutes before and at the time of the drop, so they can be among the first to shop on the merchant’s website.
When users click on the notification, they will see a ‘Shop on website’ button to purchase the item on the merchant’s website. If a user buys something using that link, not only will they be getting some benefits in the form of a minor discount, they will also have a viable chance to be one of the first people to get their hands on said product.
The company said that users will also be able to see the price, pictures, a description of the product, and a clickable hashtag that will show them what other shoppers on Twitter have to offer.
For the time being, the feature is only offered to shoppers in the US who use Twitter in English on iOS devices. Later sometime in the year, this feature will be rolled out to other regions, if Twitter is able to get the necessary clearances.
