One Company Is Making Gifting More Personal

We’ve all been there. You want to get a close friend, or even a family member, something special for the holidays. But what’s their favorite color? Their size? Do they really need a jacket, or maybe a pair of shoes? A gift card is an easy way around this, but it lacks a personal touch. Still, the last thing anyone wants is to have their unwanted gift returned after the holidays. To solve this problem, more retailers are turning to GiftNow. The process is almost like sending a gift card, but a shopper is able to select a specific item for the recipient, instead of a dollar amount. Here’s how it works: A gift giver selects an item online before sending it to a recipient. The giftee will receive an email with the gift’s details, but he or she then has the opportunity to select a preferred color, size and shipping address. Or, the gift can be exchanged for something entirely different, at equal or lesser value. In partnership with Loop Commerce, the creator of the gifting technology, both Banana Republic and Athleta are the latest retailers to go live with GiftNow. The arrangement was pulled together by the brands’ parent company, Gap. Read more on CNBC.