Twitter takes on e-commerce, tests Buy button

Twitter is taking a page from Facebook and testing its own Buy button, which will allow users of the social media platform to purchase products directly from Tweets.

According to group product manager Tarun Jain, a small percentage of U.S. users will see some Tweets from its test partners featuring the Buy button. That percentage will grow over time, depending on users’ response.

The test comes as competition in mobile e-commerce is heating up, but it also comes just a week after The Home Depot became the latest retailer to confirm what looks like a data breach, reportedly caused by the same malware that hit Target.

“This is an early step in our building functionality into Twitter to make shopping from mobile devices convenient and easy, hopefully even fun,” Jain said. “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; sellers will gain a new way to turn the direct relationship they build with their followers into sales. We’re not building this alone. We’ve partnered with Fancy (@fancy), Gumroad (@gumroad), Musictoday (@Musictoday) and Stripe (@stripe) as platforms for this initial test, with more partners to follow soon.”

After tapping the Buy button, users will get additional product details and be prompted to enter their shipping and payment information. Once entered and confirmed, the order information is sent to the merchant for delivery.

Payment and shipping information is encrypted, said Jain, adding that consumers can store their information after completing their first transaction, so they can buy again in the future without having to re-enter everything.

“Of course, you can always remove this information from your account. Your credit card is processed securely and won’t be shared with the seller without your permission,” Jain said.