Amazon Prime members can now use the mobile Amazon Shopping app to send gifts to friends using just their phone number of email address — even if they don't have their street address. The new feature makes it easier to give, receive and even exchange presents for a gift card, the company announced.
To do it, you just need browse for "millions of products" available to gift on Amazon's Shopping smartphone app, according to the company. Once you've selected a product, you can select "add a gift receipt for easy returns" and go to check out. You can also select a new option to "let the recipient provide their address." To complete the transaction, you just enter their email address or mobile phone number.
Once sent, recipients receive a gift message by email or text. From there, they can choose to accept the gift and enter their preferred delivery address. If they're not keen on your choice, they can exchange the item for a gift card and use that to purchase something else with no need to notify the gift giver.
The feature requires the gift recipient to also have an Amazon account, much as Venmo or PayPal's Mobile Cash app requires the sender and receiver to have an account. The key benefit of Amazon's app is that you can still personalize a gift, even if you don't feel comfortable hitting shops with a pandemic still raging. The new feature arrives to Amazon Shopping in the US today (October 4th) — if you get a chance to try it, let us know how it went in the comments below.