Twitter: A Shopper’s Best Friend?

Mark Ellis — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 22:06:38 +0000

You may not think of Twitter as your portal to the world of online shopping, but as Twitter continues to consider ways of making money, the idea of selling products through Twitter has gained steam. According to Todd Chaffee, a Twitter board member, the website may offer links to products, creating a source of revenue for Twitter through corporate partnerships.

Twitter has been recognized as a way for users to get product recommendations from their followers, so Twitter may decide to make it even easier and allow users to buy the product in one easy step. Many companies have already made their way to Twitter and advertised directly to consumers, benefiting from free advertisement and the ability to gauge customer responses.

In order to differentiate itself from search engines, Twitter would combine customer recommendations and advice with standard e-commerce practices. Also, Twitter would allow customers to learn everything they need to know about a product and then purchase it without having to navigate to several different websites.