Just two months after Tesla CEO Elon Musk purchased Twitter, the social media company continues to update the platform in several key areas of focus, including e-commerce.
On June 8, Twitter announced another expansion of its online shopping efforts with the launch of a new feature called Product Drops, which will let online merchants tease their upcoming product launches.
Twitter's Product Drops
Twitter explains that a lot of users have already come to the platform to talk about product releases, both before and after the drop happens.
They may be anticipating a new drop, bragging that they scored the item in question, or lamenting that they did not. The new Product Drop feature helps merchants to be a part of that conversation among users, according to Mashable.
With Product Drops, merchants can create a special type of Tweet that showcases the item using both images and text.
With this feature, merchants can create their promotional tweets and add pictures of products, but they will also be able to highlight when the product will become available for purchase.
Users who click on the tweet are then taken to the Product Details Page, where they can get more information about the product before they can make a decision.
This page includes price, product description, photos, and more. They can also click on the hashtag to see what others are saying about the newly released product.
There is also a "Remind Me" button, which users can click on to get a notification when the Product Drop goes live so they can tune in.
Since the feature is contained within a tweet, Twitter users can interact with it as they would any other tweet.
Users can like them, retweet them, quote them, and even share them through direct message or text. These tweets can also be bookmarked for easy access later on, according to AdWeek.
When users go to post about the tweet, a box provided encourages them to join the conversation and include a hashtag that is already pre-filled. The tweet can also be promoted through Twitter's ad tools for more promotion.
How Product Drop Works
Upon its release, users who set the reminder for the feature will get an in-app notification in their Notifications tab 15 minutes before the drop and again when the feature drops, according to The Verge.
Users will see a "Shop on website" button so they can purchase the item directly from the merchant's website.
Twitter is not the middleman though. This is similar to TikTok's current shopping strategy, where in-app shopping features just link out to the retailer's website for the final checkout.
This means that the social app is just serving as the top of the funnel and is not trying to manage the purchase flow. Meanwhile, Meta is aiming to power more of the shopping transactions inside its own app, where users complete the checkout through Facebook Pay.
Twitter Product Manager Justin Hoang said that they've come up with this feature for users who are a fan of a certain brand and wants to be first in line to grab the latest release.
Everything that users need to know about the product will be on the Product Details Page. They can set a reminder so they won't miss the drop, and they can even check what other people are saying about the product, and they can do all of these without leaving Twitter.
In 2021, Twitter added the tip jar for creators.
In early 2022, Twitter added an edit button for its users.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Sophie Webster
