Amazon, in its eternal quest to shift cash from your bank account to theirs, has just launched a new app it hopes will help it score a few extra sales (or possibly hundreds of thousands) of its gift cards.
Called Surprise!, the iOS and Android app allows you to quickly and easily knock together an e-card to send to a loved one for a special occasion such as a birthday, anniversary, Thanksgiving, or how about Christmas, that time of year when we love to send gifts.
The app’s various e-card designs are fairly basic but do the job; no doubt over time Amazon will broaden its range.
Cards can be customized with a photo, video, audio greeting, or simply a personal typed message, and can be left at that. However, should you wish to add an Amazon gift card, the process is straightforward enough, with the sender able to load it with credit valued at anything from a measly 50 cents all the way to a more generous and possibly bankruptcy-inducing $2,000.
Once completed, it’s just a case of going through the payment process and hitting ‘send.’
The free app also includes an ‘Occasion Timeline’ that enables you to easily build a database of important occasions, so you’ll be reminded each time one comes around.
The app really is a no-brainer for Amazon, offering a straightforward service that should bring in some extra revenue via sales of its gift cards. For Amazon shoppers, it offers a convenient way to quickly get a gift together if you’re the type who tends to leave things till the last minute, as many consumers tend to do in the run up to December 25.
[Amazon Surprise! for iOS and Android]