The team from Gyft, an app bringing the gift card industry to your mobile phone, took the stage at TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2013 today to introduce a new gift card registry option, which allows users to create something of a “wish list” of the gift cards they want to receive. This registry can then be shared via a link printed on invitations, posted on websites, or on social networks like Twitter or Facebook, for example.
Previously, the company was a finalist at TechCrunch Disrupt SF 2012, launching their then iPhone-only application that lets you add plastic gift cards to a mobile wallet of sorts for ease of access, and the chance to be notified of promotions and special offers from partner retailers who want to see those gift cards spent.
Today the service works across iOS, Android, and the web, and it has introduced features like re-gifting options, APIs, bitcoin support, and more. According to co-founder CJ MacDonald, to date, over 200,000 plastic cards have been loaded on to the Gyft platform, representing over $10 million in money consumers have yet to spend.
Gyft lets consumers load virtually any gift card into the app, as well as buy and share cards with others. (Gyft takes a commission of card sales). The company has also established direct partnerships with over 300 retailers in order to sell their cards, and to let consumers check balances and receive notifications when they’re near a store with an offer for Gyft users.
The company has now run promotions with a number of retailers, including Gap, Sephora, Lowe’s, Brookstone, Reebok, and others. On average, retailers see 10 percent redemption rates when running their promotions, and in one case, a retailer even drove hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales across just a three-week time period.
Now the company is launching a registry, which lets users set up a wish list of their favorite merchants. As co-founder CJ MacDonald told us, “the average consumer would rather have a $25 gift card than a $40 gift.” Consumers can create a registry with up to 8 merchants, he says, and receive a personalized URL like gyft.com/username which they can share however they choose. Such a link may make the most sense on things like party or wedding invitations, where gift cards are often used in lieu of presents.
Today, users will have to go online to set up this registry, but by year-end, they’ll be able to do so within the Gyft mobile applications, too. You can try it for yourself at registry.gyft.com.
