Tumblr is the latest social media platform to add a buy button enabling users to purchase items from posts. As you may know, such a feature is currently being tested by both Facebook and Twitter.
Tumblr has partnered with Etsy, Artsy, Kickstarter, or DoSomething for the feature, which isn’t limited to the word “buy,” but also includes “pledge,” and reportedly “browse” and “Do Something”. Now whenever a user posts something they find on one of these sites to Tumblr, buttons will appear with the appropriate call to action.
From the user perspective, that’s pretty much all there is to it based on Tumblr’s very brief announcement of the feature.
With all of these social media platforms starting to enable this kind of e-commerce, one can’t help but envision a growing trend of News Feed/Timeline-based impulse buying. This will make such placement all the more coveted by brands, while making them more depressed about things like the decline of their organic reach on Facebook.
Still, we’re headed for some interesting times for selling products online. Word of mouth may not have reached its potential just yet.
It’s unclear if and when Tumblr might open up this functionality to additional sites.
Image via Tumblr