How will Twitter Impact Holiday Shopping?

Will Cyber Monday have a banner year with the growing adoption of Twitter?

It’s quite possible.

Online research and purchases are a large part of consumers’ holiday shopping process. The social and interactive aspects of it make it a great avenue to gather information, purchase and ship gifts easily. Will this tradition spike this year, as consumers and brands are engaging with one another via Twitter? I think so. Now more than ever, consumers expect to hear from and interact with brands online. If I want to rave about an inspired purchase, I used to go to a review site. Now I send out a tweetcast.

One key difference between Twitter and social shopping sites is that consumers can proactively engage with brands. On a blog or review site, content is geared towards other shoppers, but on Twitter users elicit responses directly from brands.

How do you think Twitter will impact holiday shopping? Here are a few speculations:

1. Shorter limited time offers/ sales

2. Brands will dedicate handles to customer service

3. Lower traffic to product review websites as this will migrate to Twitter

4. Users will ask followers for feedback/ review before a purchase