Twitter will test live-streaming shopping broadcasts. Twitter has jumped into it to try and increase eCommerce activity via the immediacy and interaction of merchant broadcasts.
Twitter’s live-stream shopping variant will allow users to tune in to the broadcast while looking at merchandise options displayed below it. The current version of the presentation will allow users to either participate in the live tweet conversation surrounding the event or look at a ‘Shop’ tab containing all of the featured items.
The option leverages both the platform’s rise in online commerce and its real-time interactivity advantages. Soon, we’ll get our first look at how it works in practice.
Live-streaming shopping broadcasts by Twitter
As explained by Twitter:
“We are conducting our first test of Live Shopping in collaboration with Walmart, where they will be kicking off Cyber Week with singer, songwriter, dancer and social media superstar Jason Derulo for the first-ever shoppable livestream on Twitter. Starting at 7pm ET on Sunday, November 28, people can watch and shop from @Walmart (on iOS and desktop), where Jason will host a 30-minute variety show highlighting electronics, home goods, apparel, seasonal décor, surprise special guests and much more.”
Walmart has been an early adopter of the next generation of digital commerce technologies, working with TikTok and Snapchat on their in-stream shopping efforts.
It’ll be fascinating to see what kind of reaction the firm gets on Twitter, where it has over 1.2 million followers, and how its success may influence other companies considering the same.
Over the past year, Twitter has been developing a variety of in-stream shopping options, with the debut of a live test of its forthcoming Shop module for business profiles in July being a major step forward.
The module is one of several that Twitter is creating for its new “Professional Profiles,” which are now in live testing and will eventually allow Twitter to enable more in-stream interaction for businesses, helping to generate direct referral traffic from your tweet activity.
It’s impossible to forecast how successful app-based shopping will be. In 2015, Twitter tested a shop tab on select profiles, as well as ‘Product and Place Collections,’ which allowed some high-profile users to promote items in a special part of the site.
All of those failed to catch on, eventually prompting Twitter to disband its commerce team in 2017 and reduce its eCommerce efforts.
However, now, as shopping moves online, and with the platform’s renewed emphasis on creativity, it’s time to try again, and the opportunity is ripe for western social media platforms to connect to the same trend.
The simplicity, interactivity, and immediateness of live-streaming may help Twitter take the next step forward by combining eCommerce, and it’ll be fascinating to see how it develops the option and whether Twitter users are receptive to the new experience.
In addition, Twitter tells us that it is extending its Shop Module test with select merchants in the US, as well as working to improve catalog ingestion and management processes so that more can participate.
Finally, these will all link to the platform’s Professional Profiles, which might serve as another outlet for promoting and selling your items in-stream.
