Unwrapping Virtual Presents – the up-rise of eGifts and eCards! An idea to bring the fun back into digital gifting!
Overview & Introduction
With the festive season upon us, what better way to commence the video series… today’s idea is about gifts! (well eGifts!)
We all love receiving gifts, whatever the occasion. We also spend a good deal of time, energy and money deciding what gifts we should give to our friends and loved ones. But like everything else, gifting has evolved with technology. Physical cards and presents are being replaced by eCards and eGifts. translating to video and vouchers respectively.
The research and data highlights an upward trend of interest towards digital gifting. As the amount of people gifting digitally rises, so does the variety of what is giftable.
The Problem
“The manner of giving is worth more than the gift” – Pierre Corneille
Quite frankly, I enjoy unwrapping a physical present, and I’m sure you do to. There is a level of anticipation that builds up during the process of unwrapping a gift. This feeling is hard to replicate from any other activity. But as eCards and eGifts become more and more prevalent, encounters with such experiences are diminishing. Delivery of most (if not all) eGifts is via digital means (email, SMS, etc). The process of unwrapping has therefore disappeared; you open a message and get your gift. Where has the 5 seconds of anticipation gone? Where are those levels of excitement?
A study has shown that recipients prefer wrapped gifts over unwrapped gifts. Unwrapping gifts is linked to increased excitement, and an improved mood. Recipients also tend to be more positively inclined towards receiving wrapped gifts. So why should things be any different for eGifts?
Visualising the Data
Research suggests gift card sales will reach $160 billion in 2018. In 2017, the DIGITAL gift card market is already expected to reach $15 billion! Without doubt, the market is growing, and one can only presume that the market currently purchasing physical gift cards will move towards digital gift cards over time.
This assumption could be supported by a survey indicating that 74% of 18 to 24 year old’s are interested in keeping gift cards on their phones. Other research stated that 42% of Millennials intended to gift “digitally” during the festive season, with 95% of them considering a gift card or voucher.
At the moment, the industry is loosely defined; with the keyword ‘Gift Card’ receiving monthly search volumes of 100K-1M on Google. While the keyword ‘E Cards’ has a monthly search volume of 10K-100K(Source Google AdWords). However over time, this could change! And you could be the changing force..
The above visuals were from research undertaken by First Data and Chain Store Age.
The IDEA
So, you have heard the backdrop, but what’s the idea I hear you ask?! Well… an interactive platform, allowing recipients to unwrap “virtual” presents. This will involve a responsive website, that enables the giver to provide a recipient, with a link. The link will then provide some form of interactive unwrapping. Actions like shaking a mobile phone, moving your finger over a screen, tabbing certain keys, will all enable the present on the screen to be “unwrapped”. This will not only add some excitement and suspense to the gift, but also make the experience more memorable. It should be a win-win for both the giver and the receiver, and YOU, as the creator of the platform!
SWOT
- Rise in the online gift transactions by 26% in 2017.
- Limited competition.
- Lesser importance given to ‘packaging’ of digital cards and gifts.
- High interest in eCards & eGifts among Millennials.
- Possibility of collaboration with retailers like Amazon and Walmart, to improve the experience of their gift cards.
- More features from competitors, for instance Snappygift, allows you to customize and send variety of gift to your team via email or text message.
- Newer Technology and innovation.
- Change in growth trend of eGifting.
Summary
As promised, I have presented a problem coupled with an idea. What did you think? I would love to hear your feedback on the idea! Even better, if this is something you related to, then get cracking!
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