Twitter really wants you to buy stuff from your timeline and has spent the last few years figuring out how to make a play for your wallet. But if you’re not an impulse shopper, clicking a buy button or hashtagging a tweet to snag something right then and there is too much pressure. Amazon’s latest Twitter effort dials it down a notch with wishlists instead of purchases.
Like #AmazonCart, the company’s first Twitter shopping initiative, #AmazonWishList requires you to connect your Twitter and Amazon accounts. Then you can reply to any tweet containing an Amazon link with the hashtag, and Amazon will add the item to a new wish list called, appropriately, #AmazonWishList. Amazon’s official @MyAmazon Twitter account will respond to your hashtag with an update about whether the item was successfully added to your wish list or not.
Items you hashtag #AmazonWishList on Twitter will be placed into a new wish list.
How #AmazonWishList differs from #AmazonCart: The two initiatives are similar, but people often add items to their wish lists that they have no intention of buying. #AmazonCart items are waiting for you to take the last step, but maybe you just wanted to remember the product for later. Instead you end up deleting it from your basket. Wish lists are similar to Pinterest boards, which tell the public what you want your life to be, but not necessarily what it is. #AmazonWishList only works with public Twitter accounts, so anyone can see the items you add to your dream purchases pile.
And that’s why this latest Twitter-Amazon pairing is a more accurate use case for the network’s e-commerce push. #AmazonWishList indicates your interest in an item without committing to it. Twitter and Amazon see what strikes your fancy and can show you more stuff like it in Promoted Tweets. Eventually you’ll click “buy,” but it won’t feel forced.