Twitter is testing new pages that assemble all sort of information regarding products and places, the social network announced Friday, June 19.
Along with tweets, images and video, the pages will collect information about products and offer users the option to buy a product, book a trip, or even visit a website for more information. The social network cites the example of the book "The Martian," bringing together tweets from the readers, publishers, author and an easy button to click to download the book.
Furthermore, Twitter is allowing influencers on the platform to share collections of products and places. According to reports on NBC News, it will launch with 41 individuals and brands - from Disney Store and Hallmark, to stylist Rachel Zoe as well as YouTube star and makeup guru Michelle Phan.
Demi Lovato might also offer a collection of books and clothes. Nike, on the other hand, is expected to showcase and sell a selection of LeBron James clothing and footwear.
Twitter noted that a lot of people tweet about what they love, "but it can be challenging to find and engage with the most relevant Tweets."
Product manager Amaryllis Fox wrote in a blog post, "Every month, millions of people Tweet about what they love: products they buy, places they visit, books they're reading or vacations they're planning."
"But it can be challenging to find and engage with the most relevant Tweets, images and videos about products and places when you're looking for them."
This basically implies that the company is making it easier to buy stuff that people tweet about. Twitter is not trying to generate a new revenue stream from retail sales though that may seem to be the company's motivation behind the move.
It's a direct marketing play and is designed to improve the ad experience for brands, giving them better information on the return on investment in promoted tweets.
USA Today separately noted that the social network's move comes under growing pressure from Wall Street to grow revenue and widen it appeal.
Just within the past few weeks, Pinterest unveiled a "buy button" and photo-sharing website Instagram announced that it's enabling a "shop now" button on brands photos. Snapchat too experimented with a "click-to-buy" button.
