Shop Amazon via Twitter #AmazonCart

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I just used Twitter to buy super cool wine glasses on Amazon.

OK, wait … Did that sentence even make sense? How could I use Twitter to buy something on Amazon? The answer is, last week Amazon teamed up with Twitter to launch a first-of-its-kind service called #AmazonCart, and that is how I did it. I know it sounds a bit unusual but I promise you, you will want to check out this new Twitter feature.

Now I have to confess, I really do love all things Amazon. In the Pacific Northwest we’re a little biased. We live in Amazon land. In our home, we’ve had Amazon Prime since before it was cool. We use Amazon Instant Video for our digital downloads and streaming. We do grocery shopping via Amazon Fresh, and we have even gotten to use Amazon Local delivery because we live in their home service area. So any time the company comes out with something new, its a pretty much a given we will try it out.

Its also probably no surprise that as a blogger and social media lover, I’m on Twitter a lot. And when I say a lot, I’m talking almost 29,000 tweets since 2010. I can’t even wrap my mind around that, but needless to say, it takes just a bit of my attention on a daily basis. When I heard about #AmazonCart I was definitely intrigued.

Its a pretty straightforward service, and one that I think will become a powerful tool for brands, and even us everyday little people. As my husband said, when I got him into the act of helping me test it out, “Oh, Amazon is smart.”

How does #AmazonCart on Twitter work?

During your day, at home, work or any time on-the go, you may be checking your Twitter feed. I pretty much do this everywhere on my mobile, like last week, at the airport on the way to SoFabCon blogging conference.

 

You could be checking Twitter anywhere, but for the following example let’s imagine you are waiting for your child at the bus stop.

You’re checking your Twitter feed and you spot your favorite fashion blogger tweet about the handbag she has just fallen in love with, including a link to it on Amazon. Of course you want to take a look, but just as you’re about to click over the bus makes it appearance.

After saying “crap” (because I know you did) you quickly reply to the tweet with the hashtag #AmazonCart. With that simple tweet the handbag magically appears in your Amazon shopping cart. Its now there, just hanging out and ready for you to come back later and take a look, any time you have the time.

Later, after the kids go to bed, you finally have time to visit your Amazon shopping cart, and you find the handbag right there simply because you replied to a tweet with #AmazonCart.

What happens then? 

After viewing the handbag (or other product) in your shopping cart,  you can do one of three things.

• If you decide you do not want it, you can simply click to remove it from your cart, no harm no foul.
• Or maybe you decide you love the product, but have to save up a few bucks before you can buy. Leave it in your cart (for now) or easily add it to your wish list for later purchase.
• Or if like me, you just can’t live without the product (in my case the hilarious wine glasses with built in straws and little feet,) you can go ahead and purchase (hopefully using your Amazon Prime account, because hello FREE 2-day shipping!) and wait for your package to appear.

You can do this with any Amazon product link you see on Twitter, from Amazon itself, from the brand or even from little ole me when I share products I really love.  For me and those super cool wine glasses, I replied with #AmazonCart to get them into my shopping cart while at the airport.

After takeoff, using the on-board WiFi I purchased the wine glasses right there on the plane at 30,000 feet.

Then using my Amazon Mobile app, clicked to my shopping cart and using my Amazon Prime account, purchased the wine glasses.

I tested it out a bit more while at the conference, like here while I was getting some body paint at the SoFabCon 5th Birthday Masquerade Party, just to see how it worked with a bunch of products. I ended up with quite a few interesting things in my cart to check out later.

 

 I inspired my travel buddy Kerri @_themaven to check it out too.

The concept of #AmazonCart is really quite novel, and something I think that has a lot of legs as a marketing and sales tool. If you’re an Amazon affiliate, its really cool because you can send out links (properly disclosed of course) and your followers can quickly and easily add to cart and purchase later using your link. So the opportunities here are pretty fantastic all around.

Below is a quick video to give you a bit more info, and I encourage you to check out #AmazonCart for yourself. You can do a little testing with several products just to get a feel for it, and don’t worry, you’re not buying anything. Its just a quick and easy way to “save” that product for later viewing.

So…how About an #AmazonCart Test?!

To make it simple to test out, go here

to link your Amazon account with your Twitter account. Then, here’s a tweet from @Amazon that includes a link to the awesome wine glasses I just purchased. Click over to Twitter and just reply to this tweet with the hashtag #AmazonCart, and see what happens.

Just a little note when you’re testing. I did experience that if the Amazon link is directing you to a “category” of products and not a single product, using #AmazonCart will not add anything to your cart. But really that makes sense. It just confused me a bit at first. Here’s more info: