Tag: social media mobile commerce

Twitter may be ready for mobile commerce

| February 7, 2014

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.Twitter and Mobile Commerce

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.

Facebook takes a step toward mobile commerce

| August 20, 2013

Social network begins showing interest in mobile commerce

Facebook may be stepping into the mobile commerce arena as it begins testing its own mobile payments system. The social network has been looking for ways to improve its standing in the stock market and provide more value to the services it provides to consumers. Recently, this endeavor has manifested itself through the social network’s stronger focus on mobile marketing and providing analytic services to advertisers. Now, however, Facebook may be switching gears to embrace a trend that has been growing in popularity among consumers recently: Mobile commerce.

New service aims to streamline mobile payments

The social network is currently testing a service that will function as a companion to PayPal’s e-commerce services. The current stage of the test involves Facebook’s payments service to store and fill-in a consumer’s financial information in order to streamline the process of making a purchase using a mobile device. The service is meant to use this information to make the purchase of Facebook Gifts more convenient. The service is also meant to streamline in-game purchases for the various games that are supported on the social network.

Mobile Commerce - Facebook mobile paymentsFacebook won’t compete with PayPal or others

While Facebook is showing some interest in mobile commerce, the social network does not yet have any intention of competing with companies like PayPal in this sector. Currently, Facebook is primarily interested in making mobile payments easier for consumers. Considering that a fair amount of the social network’s users access the platform from their smartphones and tablets, the company is keen to ensure that these users are able to use the social network to their benefit.

New service could be a benefit to Facebook

This new initiative could be a major benefit for Facebook. It will allow the social network to determine whether ad-clicks turn into sales, which could provide the company with a stronger standing in the marketing sector. If this is the case, it could also meant significant return-on-investment for the advertisers that have been using the social network to reach out to and connect with its users.