Twitter now reminds users about product releases via 'Product Drops'

Twitter is fortifying its e-commerce side by testing a new feature on the platform called “Product Drops,” which will notify users of product releases in advance. It is currently being tested on a limited number of iOS users in the US and across numerous brands, like Dior, Fossil x Jeff Staple, HomeDepot, LEGO, and Union Los Angeles.

Instagram and Facebook already have a handful of features and tools specifically meant for helping users find different deals on their platforms. On the other hand, despite catering to business ads, Twitter still lacks tools that will allow users to connect directly to their favorite stores and brands. With this, the Products Drops feature is a good move for the blue bird app.

The idea of the feature under test is very simple: business brands will be releasing product announcements, and interested users can sign up for the reminder by clicking a “Remind me” button. This reminder will alert the person twice: 15 minutes before the product gets an official release and when the product goes live. After that, Twitter will show notifications for the brand product. Clicking it will introduce the “shop on website” button linked to the product’s business website.

Twitter also promises to make the drop informative for all customers. According to the company, clicking the merchant’s tweet about the drop will open the Product Details Page, which will give them a complete set of details about the product, such as price, pictures, and a product description. This, as Twitter says, will enable everyone “to make informed and confident purchase decisions.”

To make the product release more discoverable by many users, the feature also has a clickable hashtag connected to the product preview page’s drop. Also, the Product Drops posts from brands will also work like any other regular tweets that can be liked, retweeted, shared, and bookmarked.

The Product Drops feature test indicates that the platform is strengthening its e-commerce section business. Nonetheless, Twitter explained that even before the idea of the Product Drops was conceived, users were already using the app as a platform for discussing product releases from different brands.

“People come to Twitter to talk about products and product drops every day,” wrote Twitter’s Justin Hoang, Staff Product Manager, and Siddharth Rao, Software Engineering Manager, in a blog post. “And merchants have long been dropping products on Twitter without any native product support. We’re excited to change that and introduce new shopping features that empower shoppers to stay on top of the launches that matter most to them and provide merchants with another way to engage shoppers around big product moments.”

Product Drops feature will join Twitter’s other shopping features: Shop Spotlight, Live Shopping, and Twitter Shops.