You know how it is – you want to buy a piece of clothing for someone as a gift but you don’t know their size. So you have two options, take a chance (leading to a high chance of disappointment) or ask and ruin the surprise. The Loop eGift offers a third option by enabling consumers to choose and purchase online, but leave the specifics up to the recipient.

The eGift button can be incorporated into any online system. Once in place customers can choose to e-gift an item at checkout. They are prompted to enter the recipient’s email address with the option to add a personal note. Upon opening the email, the recipient will be directed to the relevant store to choose preferences such as size and colour, and redeem their item, which is then delivered to their desired address.

E-gifting sits part way between gift tokens and physical presents, opening up a huge range of items that would previously have been though of as ‘difficult to give as a gift.’ If you’re a retailer or a gift buyer, there may be something of interest here.

Thinking more widely, maybe other items could be sold in this way. How about concert tickets for example, or sports event tickets?

www.loopcommerce.com