Tweet and buy: Twitter trials new e-commerce function

Twitter is dipping its toe into e-commerce with the announcement that it is to begin testing a new way for users to make purchases via their mobile phones with a ‘buy’ button.

Following Facebook’s lead, which announced earlier this summer that it would begin testing a product purchase feature through pages and its news feed, Twitter is to begin trialling a similar feature that lets users make purchases directly from a tweet.

From today, a small percentage of US users – which Twitter has said will grow over time – will have the option to click on a ‘Buy’ button featured on a tweet, which will then offer additional product details and prompt the users to enter shipping and payment information.

Once users have entered their information and confirmed, the order is sent to the merchant for delivery.

Twitter, which entered the stock market earlier this year with an initial public offering of $26 a share, has emphasised that the feature has been built with “trust and security at the forefront.”

In a blog post, Twitter said: “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.”

The social network added that information can be removed from an account and that credit cards are “processed securely” and will not be shared without the user’s permission.

The test will begin with a number of artists, brands and non-profit organisations, which are listed on Twitter’s blog.