Twitter introduces shopping livestreams, similar to what you can find on Shopee or Lazada

I have to admit it—Shopee and Lazada have both become quintessential platforms for when I need to buy anything. They have become these “super apps” that also have everything from “social media updates” to shopping livestreams—and we soon will see Twitter do the same thing.

Twitter is testing out Live Shopping, where viewers can shop for items through a Shoppable Banner and Shop Tab on the Live event’s page. Its first shopping livestream, “Cyber Deals Sunday”, takes place on 28 November 2021 at 7PM ET (29 November 2021, 8AM Malaysian time), and it will be a collaboration with Walmart.

Twitter describes the livestream, hosted by Jason Derulo, as a “30-minute variety show” that will feature “electronics, home goods, apparel, seasonal décor, surprise special guests, and much more”. You can watch the event from Walmart‘s Twitter page on iOS and desktop.

“We’ve been focused on charting new territory in shoppable livestreams and are excited to celebrate an important milestone together with the first Livestream Shopping event on Twitter. We’re meeting customers where they are and making it easier to shop incredible deals and find inspiration through dynamic, interactive experiences,” said William White, Chief Marketing Officer at Walmart.

Shopee and Lazada, being essentially shopping platforms first, have been busting their butts promoting their livestreams (which you can find on their apps)—where you can sometimes get good deals and vouchers for the items that they’re promoting. They work a bit like “As Seen On TV” shows where a host shows off how well a product works, and buyers can get “discounts” if they “buy the item now”.

For Twitter, users would also be able to shop through on the Live event’s page. Similar to the shopping platforms, users can also toggle back and forth between the shopping tabs throughout the livestream, and continue to watch the livestream within the in-app browser.

Twitter has previously launched a pilot of Shop Module, a feature that lets businesses showcase their products and have users shop for them without leaving the platform. Twitter plans to launch it to more merchants in the United States in the coming weeks, and there’s a very good possibility that the platform is aiming to link both Shop Module and Live Shopping together in the near future.

Twitter isn’t the first social media platform to do something like this, of course. Facebook… I mean, Meta (I’ll need to get used to their new name) has introduced online shopping on Facebook, Instagram, and even WhatsApp. Users can also host livestreams on Facebook and Instagram, but nothing for live shopping specifically—yet.

[ SOURCE, IMAGE SOURCE ]