Yesterday I posted to Twitter about shipping my old iPhone to gadget reseller Gazelle. Within 12 minutes, the folks at Gazelle noticed my tweet message, followed my Twitter feed and sent a nice reply.
That’s a great customer follow-up use of social media. Gazelle’s prompt response made me think about other sites I frequent. How many of my favorite retailers are using Twitter? And when did they start posting tweets? I compiled the table below using Twitter’s “Find People” search and MyTweet16, which lists a Twitter user’s first 16 tweets.
Retailers Using Twitter
| Retailer Web Site | Twitter Use |
| Amazon.com #1 online retailer in the U.S. |
@amazon since Feb. 14, 2009 |
| Barnes & Noble Bookseller |
@BNBuzz since Apr. 22, 2009 |
| Best Buy Consumer electronics |
@BestBuy since Jan. 28, 2009 |
| Borders Bookseller |
@BordersMedia since Feb. 24, 2009 |
| CafePress Online retailer of custom goods |
@cafepress since Apr. 24, 2008 |
| Cooking.com Online retailer for cooks and chefs |
@CookingCom since June 19, 2009 |
| Crate & Barrel Housewares, furniture and decor |
@crateandbarrel since Apr. 25, 2008 |
| Dean & DeLuca Fine food, wine and kitchenware |
@DeanandDeluca since Mar. 23, 2009 |
| Dormbuys.com Essentials for college dorms |
@dormbuys since July 28, 2008 |
| Edible Arrangements Fruit arranged like flowers for delivery |
@DoFruit since Oct. 24, 2008 |
| Etsy Handmade crafts |
@Etsy since Jan. 14, 2008 |
| Gazelle Buys used gadgets |
@gazelle_com since Sept. 19, 2008 |
| Godiva Chocolatier Premium chocolates |
@GodivaChoc since Feb. 6, 2009 |
| JustGive.org Choose from 1.5 million charities for gifts |
@JustGiveOrg since Jan. 16, 2009 |
| Kiva.org Microlending for needy entrepreneurs |
@Kiva since July 25, 2008 |
| Kohls Department store |
@Kohls_Official since Apr. 27, 2009 |
| Lands’ End Clothing retailer with iron-clad guarantee |
@LandsEndChat since Sept. 27, 2008 |
| Levenger Gifts for reading and writing |
@Levenger since Jan. 16, 2009 |
| Nordstrom Upscale department store |
@nordstrom since Sept. 5, 2008 |
| Omaha Steaks Premium meats and seafood |
@OmahaSteaksHelp since June 17, 2009 |
| OneShare Sells one share of stock as a framed gift |
@oneshare since Feb. 4, 2009 |
| Overstock.com Online retailer selling surplus goods |
@Overstock since Nov. 20, 2008 |
| PajamaGram Pajamas sent in a hat box |
@PajamaGram since May 14, 2009 |
| ProFlowers Floral delivery |
@ProFlowers since May 5, 2009 |
| Starbucks Largest coffeehouse chain in the world |
@Starbucks since Aug. 12, 2008 |
| Sur La Table Gourmet cooking utensils and appliances |
@Sur_La_Table since June 11, 2009 |
| Teleflora Floral delivery |
@Teleflora since Mar. 6, 2009 |
| The Fruit Company Fruit basket delivery |
@TheFruitCo since Apr. 29, 2009 |
| ThinkGeek Online retailer for nerd stuff |
@thinkgeek since Jan. 26, 2008 |
| Ticketmaster Concert, show and sports tickets |
@Ticketmaster since Apr. 14, 2009 |
| Trader Joe’s Great groceries and inexpensive wine |
@traderjoes since Aug. 28, 2008 |
| Travelocity Travel and lodging |
@travelocity since Feb. 10, 2009 |
| ToysRUs Toy retailer |
@ToysRUs since Nov. 15, 2008 |
| Uncommon Goods Unusual home accessories and gifts |
@uncommon_goods since Jan. 24, 2009 |
| Urban Outfitters Clothing and footwear retailer |
@UrbanOutfitters since July 21, 2008 |
| Vera Bradley Seller of brightly patterned bags |
@verabradley since June 4, 2008 |
| Z Gallerie Home decor, furniture and dinnerware |
@zgallerie since June 14, 2009 |
| Zappos.com CEO of the online shoe retailer |
@zappos since Mar. 8, 2008 |
| Zazzle.com Online retailer for custom merchandise |
@zazzle since Oct. 24, 2008 |
Of the 40 retailers above, grocery chain Trader Joe’s use of Twitter impressed me the most. Nearly all of Trader Joe’s posts are simply retweets of customer talking about TJ’s food and beverages on Twitter. (Jargon alert: Retweets repeat someone else’s message on Twitter — crediting the author — to help spread the message to others. Often abbreviated as RT, it’s word of mouth, Twitter-style.)
Finally, as I’m writing this post, Gazelle sent me another Twitter reply. This time, Gazelle thanked me for my tweet and offered me a 5% bump in value on my next Gazelle gadget trade-in.
Tags: books, charitable gifts, chocolate+candy, clothing, coffee, college, customer service, decor, flowers, food, gadgets, gift baskets, gift sites, giftology, stock, thank you, toys, travel, wine
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