A new screenshot from Jane Manchun Wong shows that Twitter is continuing on with its plans to bring shopping to the social media platform.
On Monday, Wong tweeted a screenshot showing that Twitter is apparently working on adding a new Shopping menu option to the left-side Twitter sidebar. The screenshot shows the new button for the Shopping option but the option itself doesn’t seem to be built yet as the Shopping screen just has an “Oops, something went wrong” error screen.
Twitter is working on “Shopping” button in the menu, which supposedly will allow exploring various Twitter Shops within the app
Twitter is also working on a new set of in-app icons, which looks bolder and has a bit more sharp edges pic.twitter.com/hYWN3pbkjp
— Jane Manchun Wong (@wongmjane) September 26, 2022
Wong’s tweet also mentioned that the Shopping button “supposedly will allow exploring various Twitter Shops within the app.” If that does happen, the Shopping button would fall in line with Twitter’s recent shopping-related endeavors, namely its partnership with e-commerce company Shopify and its Shop Spotlight feature, which lets businesses display their products on their profile page. (Shop Spotlight is apparently only viewable on the mobile app.) Plus, for interested shoppers, having a dedicated Shopping menu tab could make it easier to find businesses that are participating in Twitter Shopping.
Twitter isn’t the only social media platform looking to add shopping to its services. TikTok and Instagram both have ways for users to shop for products on their platforms. The Instagram mobile app features a Shop section that lets you search for products and purchase them directly in the app or via merchants’ websites. Instagram even lets you purchase items from tagged products in posts, Stories, Reels, and Lives. TikTok also offers shopping on its app. Some businesses on TikTok have shopping tabs right on their profiles with a selection of products to choose from.
So far, Twitter’s version of shopping on its app is shaping up to look similar to TikTok and Instagram as it allows businesses to feature products on their profile pages (like TikTok) and as it builds what appears to be a more centralized landing page for shopping (like Instagram and its Shop section).
