Amazon thinks the future of shopping is in your hands, literally. The company recently launched a referral program that offers users of its mobile shopping app a few bucks to pass on the handheld shopping bug to friends. 

TechCrunch reports that while the Amazon mobile app referral program has been live for quite some time, the company is now pushing it out via a pop-up ad that appears when customers open the app.

The promotion, which is only available in the U.S., offers current users $5 to share the Amazon app with friends. It then gives friends who install the app $5 to spend.

The incentive comes in the form of an Amazon coupon, not cash, and can only be redeemed once the new users makes their first purchase on the app.

Shoppers thinking of trolling around on the app will be now be greeted with an ad asking them to “give your friends $5 to spend on Amazon.” Users can either click “get started” or “no thanks.” To get the ad to go away forever, users can check a “don’t show me this again” box.

If you choose to accept the deal, the program will access your phones’ contact list to send app invitations to your friends. Users can also opt to share a personalize referral code on social media.

A rep for Amazon says the company began pushing the app as a way to showcase its different shopping options.

“We wanted to help give customers a way to share it with an added incentive,” a company rep explains. “So, we introduced a program that provides a $5 incentive for customers to refer a friend or family member to shop with the app.”

Amazon Rolls Out A Referral Program To Encourage More Customers To Shop On Mobile [TechCrunch]

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