Amazon lures younger shoppers with Amazon Allowance

‘Amazon Allowance’ is a new way of gifting on the ecommerce site and, no doubt, a push by the ecommerce giant to encourage young shoppers to spend their allowances with them.

As the title suggests, Amazon Allowance allows parents to use it to give an allowance to their children to spend on Amazon. Recipients aged between 13 and 17 can only receive an Amazon Allowance if they set up Amazon.com accounts and use Allowances with the inclusion of a parent or guardian.

People can also set up allowances for themselves to budget or save up for a purchase.

“Sending money to family or friends can be a frustrating process,” said Manish Bansal, general manager of gift certificates at Seattle-based Amazon. “A lot of early customers are using Amazon Allowances as a way to budget – whether through one-time or recurring allowances. We’re also seeing parents using Amazon Allowances to send money to college kids who need help buying textbooks and dorm essentials.”