In an effort to incentivize more customers to shop via its popular mobile app, Amazon is pushing out a mobile referral program.
As TechCrunch recently reported, Amazon’s offering is like many typical referral programs, with a twist: The company doesn’t just want new accounts registered; it wants want them used.
The program will pay current members up to $5 for each new mobile app user they refer and will also give each referee a $5 credit to spend on the app. In an effort to get users to not only download the app but to actually use it, the payouts (in the form of an Amazon coupon, not cash) will only be paid out once the new users make their first mobile purchase.
“Amazon has an award-winning shopping app that our customers love,” a company rep told TechCrunch. “We wanted to help give them a way to share it with an added incentive. So, we introduced a program that provides a $5 incentive for customers to refer a friend or family member to shop with the app.”
This is not Amazon’s first foray into referral programs. It has similar programs for Amazon Student — a cheaper version of Amazon Prime geared at college-aged shoppers — and Amazon Prime. Both programs pay out Amazon credit for new customers.
But those other programs generally involve sending an email or posting a message to a social network to recruit friends and family to join. With the mobile app referral program, this will change. Users will be able to connect the app with their contact list stored on their phone. The app also offers the option of storing contacts on Amazon itself, allowing it to search for periodic updates to contacts and their details.
The referral program launched earlier this year but has been buried in the settings and not heavily publicized by the company, until now.
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