Twitter’s Sweet Tweet: ‘Buy” Button Coming Soon

Social media pioneer Twitter announced on Monday that they have been testing e-commerce capabilities on their site since July, and are now ready to try out a ‘buy’ button feature with their followers.

The new feature is slated for the mobile app version of Twitter and is meant to open new profit avenues in the face of serious competition in the mobile e-commerce arena.

With the expected announcement of Apple’s iPhone 6 using NFC technology and the growth of competitive online mobile payments options, Twitter is hard pressed to build the instant payment formula into their mix.

“I think of Twitter as the place to connect with the things that you love. How can you bring a transaction into the experience to make it addictive?” said Nathan Hubbard, a top media executive who joined Twitter a year ago to lead its commerce efforts. Hubbard said the test would be limited to users in the United States and would initially include 19 product categories, including popular musicians like Rihanna and Eminem, nonprofit groups like the Nature Conservancy and DonorsChoose. Also part of the trial launch are retailers Home Depot and Burberry.

The San Francisco based social media engine is known for the timely 140 character remarks, and the idea behind the new e-commerce feature follows that same ethos; the use of the ‘buy’ button is for items that are time sensitive or time-perishable.

An example of an early adopter of the new program is the nonprofit organization (Red), which has joined with various brands to sell items with a portion of profits dedicated to fighting AIDS, and already on Monday they began selling a $75 limited-edition T-shirt signed by music producer and DJ, David Guetta.