Twitter and Starbucks announced a partnership on Monday that will allow customers to exchange gift certificates by tweeting. It’s called “tweet-a-coffee,” and Starbucks hopes to use the program to capitalize on spontaneous acts of caffeinated generosity among friends.
All you have to do is tweet “@tweetacoffee to” and write in the handle of the recipient. Initially eGifts will only come in $5 denominations and can be redeemed by printing out the eGift or loading it to a Starbucks digital card.
More e-commerce initiatives could be coming to Twitter if the Starbucks gambit succeeds. American Express already promoted a program earlier this year that allowed its cardholders to use a hashtag to make a purchase.