Tumblr makes e-commerce play with ‘buy’ button

Tumblr is making a move down the monetisation route, adding new ‘buy’, ‘pledge’ and ‘get involved’ buttons for Etsy, Artsy, Kickstarter and Do Something.

Bloggers can now post a link from any of these sites – Tumblr representatives have said that the feature is being tested with just four for now – and it will automatically generate a view or buy button. Clicking on the button will redirect the viewer to the site in question.

Twitter and Facebook are both playing with their own ‘buy’ buttons, slightly ahead of Tumblr by facilitating in-app purchases. But were Tumblr to allow the button to link to e-commerce giants Amazon or eBay at a later date, it could give them a run for their money. For now, this new feature is an unexpected boon for bloggers who also sell their own products or have a project to fund.

Tumblr has yet to verify whether it will be taking a cut off any traffic it directs to these sites.

Tumblr was acquired by Yahoo last year for $1.1 billion, when Yahoo’s CEO Marissa Mayer made it clear that the intention was to turn on more monetisation for the service.

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