Gift cards get personal

Gift cards are the gifts that keep on giving for retailers, and chains are finding new ways to customize them further. CNBC is reporting about a new service called GiftNow, which enables a shopper to select a specific item for a gift recipient, rather than a monetary amount.

“While online commerce is massive and growing, the majority of the [gift]-commerce opportunity still lies in physical stores, which don’t always have in stock what gift-givers want to give, or where consumers are hesitant to purchase the wrong item as a gift,” said Roy Erez, CEO of Loop Commerce, GiftNow’s parent company, speaking to CNBC.

Gap Inc. is using the GiftNow technology through physical gift cards at its Athleta chain. Athleta customers can select a gift at the store for someone and then have that gift put on a GiftNow card. The recipient of the card can either accept that particular gift, tweak it, or exchange it for another one altogether.

“This solution revolutionizes how shoppers are able to buy gifts in physical stores,” Erez said. “It overcomes the hurdles gift-givers face — such as not knowing the recipient’s size or favorite style — and caters to the large and growing base of consumers looking for a more thoughtful alternative to a gift card.”