As the demand for e-gifting grows, gift card providers and digital gifting technology companies are finding new ways to innovate in these programs.
CashStar, a digital gifting company, provides the technology platform for top merchants to sell gift cards. The company is investing in different options that provides flexibility for the merchant to enable the giver and recipient to enjoy a more personalized experience. For example, Sephora has a terrific mobile app, noted Ben Kaplan, CEO of CashStar.
“So the shopper sees some great gifts on the site that would be perfect for her friend’s birthday. She is able to insert photos from the site onto a gift card and send to her friend with a note: ‘We are thinking of you and think you might like these gifts.’”
“The Sephora mobile app enables a rich set of personalized capabilities,” said Kaplan. “Any photo can be uploaded to a gift card suggesting a product at Sephora.”
Kaplan says that the technical ability to transfer gift cards into “branded currency” opens up new opportunities for restaurants and merchants. “The use of digital gift cards as promotional branded currency incentivizes and changes human behavior,” added Kaplan. “You can also structure a promotion to create a bigger basket size, which increases the number of sales.”
