Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) and Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) have unveiled a new partnership that could be a boon to both companies. According to a release from the online retailer, the new service will start from today and will be available to users in the US under the name #AmazonCart, and to those in the UK under the name #AmazonBasket.
Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) shares have been battered in recent days following the company’s release of its more recent earnings report. It’s demonstrations like #AmazonCart that show the company’s ambition to make money more clearly than anything else, and it may have a positive effect on investor perception, as well as the numbers coming out of the company.
#AmazonCart makes buying easier than ever
The offering is relatively simple. Users have to link their Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) account with their Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) account by heading over to this page. Following that link, users will be able to add any item seen on Twitter to their Amazon cart simply by replying to a tweet containing an Amazon product link with #AmazonCart.
The product will then be added to the user’s Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) shopping cart, which can then be edited in order to confirm purchase. The practice streamlines the process of promoting a product on Twitter. The easier it is to transition a purchase from impulse to intention is one of the problems with any retail operation, and particular with an abstracted shopping experience like that on Twitter.
Buying on the Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) social network makes the practice more impulsive, and it may add to the bottom lines of both of the companies involved. If Twitter is able to integrate the practice with its advertising platform the power that the company wields over e-commerce may be ready for growth.
Amazon continues online crusade
The biggest challenges faced by Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) are cultural. How can one company change the way people think about shopping? In the past decade or two the company has done an amazing job of educating consumers on the usefulness of online retail. It’s pulled so much custom from traditional retailers that brick and mortar competitors were forced to close locations and rethink their strategies.
The entirety of Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) success lies in one concept. The company has made it easier, and cheaper, to buy something online than it is to travel to the store and pick it up. Saved credit card details and addresses make one click purchasing a common experience. Free delivery makes worrying about unpredictable checkout costs a thing of the past.
#AmazonCart is unlikely to revolutionize the way that people shop, but it does incrementally add to the Amazon experience. Some people will buy on seeing an item on Twitter, and their friends will see what they’ve gotten their hands on. Social purchasing is very much a plausible path for retail.
There is no surprise that Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN) is sitting at the cutting edge, though Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) involvement is a little more surprising. The company is showing investors its money making potential more and more, The #AmazonCart experiment may be just the start of the company’s e-commerce ambitions.
