Skip to main content

Twitter now testing a ‘buy’ button that lets you purchase stuff in a few taps

Twitter announced on Monday it’s now testing a buy button in tweets, allowing users to make purchases in just a few taps. Impulse shoppers, beware.

The announcement was expected, though admittedly it’s taken a while. Back in February, screenshots showing a buy button landed on the Web, while last month it emerged the social media company had done a deal with payments startup Stripe to help integrate the button into its service.

Twitter said the new buy button will initially show up for only a small percentage of US-based users, though its use will expand over time.twitter buy button

“This is an early step in our building functionality into Twitter to make shopping from mobile devices convenient and easy, hopefully even fun,” Twitter’s Tarun Jain said in a blog post, adding, “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.”

Jain said that for sellers the new feature will help “to turn the direct relationship they build with their followers into sales.”

Besides Stripe, Twitter is also working with a number of e-commerce services, namely Fancy, Gumroad, and Musictoday, to help build the platform. Twenty-eight sellers – a mix of brands, artists and non-profit organizations that includes Burberry, Eminem, and (RED) – are involved in the test phase.

You’ll see the buy button if you follow one of the merchants taking part in the test phase, or if a promoted tweet lands on your timeline.

When you see the buy button alongside a product you’d like to purchase, tapping it will bring up more information on the item, as well as a prompt to enter your shipping and payment details. Fill those out, confirm your order, and you’re all set.

Related: Twitter opens its stats dashboard to all users

With online security at the forefront of many people’s minds just now, Twitter is keen to reassure users that their data is safe with the company.

“Your payment and shipping information is encrypted and safely stored after your first transaction, so you can easily buy on Twitter in the future without having to re-enter all of your information,” Jain explained, adding that credit card information is processed securely and won’t be shared with the seller without a buyer’s permission.

With Twitter likely taking a cut of sales made through its service, the San Francisco-based company will be keen to roll out the new button on a wider scale and bring many more merchants on board before the holiday season gets underway. It could also help to boost Twitter’s ad revenue if companies are tempted by the idea of selling through tweets.

Twitter isn’t the only social media giant looking to boost revenue through e-commerce initiatives. Facebook, for example, is also testing a buy button for its own service.

Editors' Recommendations

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
How to download iPadOS 17 on your iPad
New widgets for iPadOS 17.

While we have yet to see any new iPads this year, Apple has just unleashed iPadOS 17, a major update for its tablet operating system that promises to breathe new life into any recent iPad model you already own.

Once you install iPadOS 17, you'll be able to enjoy the iPhone's lock screen features on the larger screen, plus the interactive widgets that also came to the iPhone in this year's iOS 17 update. In addition, iPadOS 17 boasts some nice improvements to Stage Manager, a new tablet-sized Health app, significantly improved PDF support in Notes, and even a throwback wallpaper from the original iPad era.

Read more
Fujifilm’s new Instax Pal camera is fun, but pricey
Fujifilm's Instax Pal camera.

INSTAX Pal Promotional Video "Making small moments feel big"/FUJIFILM

Fujifilm has just unveiled the Instax Pal camera, a diminutive digital device targeted at teens who might want to print their pictures, too.

Read more
Do iPhone 14 cases fit the iPhone 15? There’s an interesting answer
Speck Presido2 cases for the iPhone 15.

The iPhone 14 and iPhone 15 series have identical display sizes, but there are slight variations in their total dimensions due to design changes. This has led to a common question of whether the cases designed for iPhone 14 would fit the iPhone 15 models. The answer to this question is not straightforward and depends on whether you are looking for a perfect or a reasonable fit.

The iPhone 15 series consists of four models, just like the iPhone 14 series. These are the 6.1-inch iPhone 15, 6.7-inch iPhone 15 Plus, 6.1-inch iPhone 15 Pro, and 6.7-inch iPhone 15 Pro Max. The prices of the iPhone 15 series are the same as the previous models, and they come with several improvements. The iPhone 15 Pro and iPhone 15 Pro Max are made of titanium, while the iPhone 14 Pro and iPhone 14 Pro Max have stainless steel bodies. Additionally, the iPhone 15 and iPhone 15 Plus now have the Dynamic Island for the first time.

Read more