Twitter has announced a new e-commerce feature that allows businesses to include a "Buy" button in tweets.
The tool, which is being rolled out to a select group of member accounts in the United States, will let users buy products and services directly from merchants without leaving the Twitter service.
In a blog post, Twitter said that it will ramp up the roll out to more users over time. For now, the company has announced 28 test partners for the feature, including a wide range of products and services from organizations such as retail stores, charity groups and hardcore metal bands. Currently, the test partners include the likes of advocacy group Global Citizen, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, retailer Burberry, rapper Eminem and metal band Megadeth.
"This is an early step in our building functionality into Twitter to make shopping from mobile devices convenient and easy, hopefully even fun. Users will get access to offers and merchandise they can't get anywhere else and can act on them right in the Twitter apps for Android and iOS; sellers will gain a new way to turn the direct relationship they build with their followers into sales," the company said.
Twitter developed the feature through partnerships with shopping platforms such as Gumroad, Fancy, Stripe and Musictoday. According to the company, its tests showed that users would only need to make a few taps to complete a transaction. Twitter promises to "safely store" the payment and shipping information of users after their first transaction, which negates the need to enter information every time a user makes a purchase.
With the introduction of the new payment system, Twitter is updating its privacy policy and terms of service. In an email sent to users, the company outlined the changes to its privacy policy, saying that the new provisions "introduced terms covering the use of our commerce offerings."
Twitter revealed that its privacy policy has been altered to cover information required to make purchases such as credit card numbers and shipping addresses. The company also hinted at features that it plans to roll out in the future, such as special offers that are redeemable at stores through the use of a credit card.
