Leaked documents suggest that Twitter is looking to establish itself in mobile shopping
Twitter may be preparing to jump into the mobile commerce game. According to leaked documents obtained by the UK Telegraph, the social network may soon make it possible for its 232 million users to purchase products directly from their mobile devices. The documents suggest that the service would be called Twitter Commerce, but there are not indications when this service would be made available for certain. Moreover, the leaked documents cannot necessarily be considered accurate and they could be nothing more than simple rumors.
Documents imply that Twitter has partnered with Fancy
The leaked documents suggest that the social network’s mobile commerce endeavors will come to fruition through a partnership with Fancy, an e-commerce merchant. Fancy counts Jack Dorsey, Twitter’s founder, as one of its prominent investors and board members. While this does not indicate Twitter’s absolute interest in mobile shopping, it does help establish a solid connection between the social network and Fancy. The leaked documents show mock-ups concerning how Twitter users would purchase products directly from product tweets that include a button that says “buy with Fancy.”
Twitter retains a strong focus on the mobile sector
Twitter has a strong interest in the mobile sector, but not necessarily commerce. The social network has done little in the way of directly supporting mobile payments and shopping, but Twitter has been working on ways to monetize its mobile interests. Facebook recently discovered the benefits of mobile commerce and how to integrate mobile shopping into its network and Twitter may soon follow suit. Indeed, this may be the beginning of a new trend in social media, wherein social networks begin to play a bigger role in the commerce space.
Mobile competition is already fierce
While Twitter may show an interest in mobile commerce, it will have to find a way to compete with organizations that already have a strong presence in that sector. The commerce space is awash with competition from various small firms and some large companies, including Google. Apple is rumored to be looking to enter into the mobile commerce space as well, which will add further competition to the crowded field.
There are many mobile commerce services that are available for large retailers, but few of these services cater to the needs of smaller groups. PayPal intends to capitalize on this by giving small and medium-sized enterprises something they can use to engage mobile consumers more effectively. Mobile point-of-sale payments are expected to reach $5.4 billion by 2018 and PayPal is keen to ensure that it has positioned itself to take advantage of this aggressive growth in 