A tweet can be used to share links, media, and status updates. But could it soon be used to share Starbucks coffee?
That’s the promise of a new partnership launched today, Monday, by Twitter andStarbucks, which enables gift certificates to be exchanged via tweets. Called the tweet-a-coffee program, the service allows for spur-of-the-moment acts of generosity between friends, with little to no friction: Just tweet at another Twitter user in order to give a $5 digital eGift hassle-free. It’s certainly a novel marketing tool. But the larger significance here is how companies like Starbucks are gradually beginning to see Twitter as a potential ecommerce platform.
To use the service, you first have to sync your Starbucks account with your Twitter account. From there, “you simply tweet ‘@tweetacoffee to’ and then [write] the handle of whoever the recipient is,” says Starbucks Chief Digital Officer Adam Brotman. “Automatically, they’ll get an @ reply back on Twitter that says that an eGift was received.” At start, the digital eGifts will be in $5 denominations, redeemable by printing out the eGift or loading it to your own Starbucks digital card.
The Starbucks tweet-a-coffee program is powered by CashStar Learn More
