Fabian Sommer/picture alliance via Getty Images
- Twitter is revamping its e-commerce efforts with tests of its new Shop Module feature
- The Shop Module appears as a product image carousel at the top of a brand's Twitter profile.
- Shop Module is 'exploratory' for Twitter as it enters an already crowded social media e-commerce market.
- See more stories on Insider's business page.
Twitter on Wednesday rolled out testing of Shop Module, a new e-commerce feature on its platform.
With Shop Module, Twitter users can scroll and tap through products to learn more about and shop for products on the business' landing page without leaving the Twitter app.
"We know people come to Twitter to interact with brands and discuss their favorite products," said Twitter's Revenue Product Lead Bruce Falck at Twitter Analyst Day 2021. "Imagine easily discovering, and quickly purchasing a new skincare product or trendy sneaker from a brand you follow with only a few clicks."
Shop Module is a new player in an already robust social media e-commerce space, with Facebook Marketplace, Shopify, and Instagram Checkout being big competitors. Twitter plans to capitalize on an increasing social commerce consumer market, which boomed during the coronavirus pandemic and is projected to grow over the next three to five years.
Twitter first ventured into e-commerce in 2014 with their "Buy Now" button, which embedded product links into tweets. The company decided to focus on performance ad sales since, but announced its intentions to re-explore e-commerce at Twitter Analyst Day last spring.
Twitter also introduced several e-commerce related features earlier this year, like Super Follows, which could potentially connect their fans to products and merchandise, and Professional Profiles, which allows businesses to display their address, phone numbers, and operating hours on their profile.
Still in the early stages of testing, Shop Module is currently only available to around 12 businesses across lifestyle, retail, and entertainment, according to Tech Crunch, and only US English-speaking IOS Twitter users can see the Shop Module on the app.
"Fundamentally, it'll give us the chance to keep learning about which shopping experiences people prefer on Twitter," Falck added in a blog post announcing the Shop Module.