Twitter-Amex Coupons Already Soaring for Retailers
After only five days, major brands have already increased cap limit for redemptions.
After only five days, major brands have already increased cap limit for redemptions.
Correction: The headline previously stated incorrectly that Twitter users have claimed millions of coupons.
Austin, TX- The American Express-Twitter coupons marriage is going so well that some of the merchant partners – which involves a list of names like Whole Foods, McDonald’s, and Virgin America – have already had to increase their cap limit to accommodate demand. They launched the campaign five days ago.
At South by Southwest Interactive on Sunday, an Amex rep explained to ClickZ that the initiative had exceeded expectations across the board. The rep said the Twitter coupons have showed greater promise so far than Amex’s Foursquare initiative, launched at at SXSW last year. Twitter’s viral nature seems to be driving a tidal wave of coupons getting nabbed by consumers. Within the first 48 hours, Amex saw more than 2,000 tweets with the #AmexMcDonalds hash tag, with customers sharing what they planned to order.
Elizabeth Rutledge, Amex’s EVP of global network marketing and information, later told ClickZ via an email: “Already, millions of Twitter users are engaging with and receiving special offers from the brands and retailers they care about…In digital, and especially mobile, the simplicity and non-clunkiness of the user experience is key.”
By tweeting hashtag #AmexWholefoods, consumers receive $20 off purchases of $75 or more at the natural foods market made with their Amex cards. McDonald’s is offering a $5 discount through its #AmexMcDonalds hashtag. Best Buy, FTD, Zappos.com, Century 21 department stores, Gulf Oil, Cheese Factory, FexEx Office, Sports Authority, Seamless.com, and Ticketmaster are other launch partners in the effort.
The @AmexSync account tweets confirmation of enrollment to receive the deal. Then, when consumers make qualified purchases, they receive the appropriate credit on their synced cards within days.
In addition to getting shoppers and eaters in the door, the program – available at sync.americanexpress.com/twitter – also spurs social sharing when people include branded hashtags in their tweets.