Guidelines 245-247
According to 2014 Retail Delivery report by Oracle, 16% offered at least one gift wrapping option.
Of these, many offered gift wrapping for free. That’s only 16%. It doesn’t make sense to be 100% because many sectors don’t apply. Car part as a gift? Cat food? Maybe, but not likely.
But we know people do give gifts, and offering a seemless experience in providing a gift can be one of those stand-out benefits that gets gift-givers returning over and over again.
These guidelines are a start. They provide the bare necessities if you’re interested in providing a gift-buying experience.
I really liked the Gift Section. It made my task of finding a gift VERY easy. There was a good amount of options within the Gift Category as well, so I was able to easily choose something in my price range, or for the occasion
3 guidelines for ecommerce shopping cart, gifting:
- Include a “this is a gift” checkbox to set up gift-wrapping options.
- Offer multiple gifting options like messages, e-gifts, wrapping options, and gift kits.
- Show customers what the gift will look like for the recipient.
Guideline #245. Include a “this is a gift” checkbox to set up gift-wrapping options
If you offer products that are likely to be gifted then having gift options, and being clear about what they offer/include can greatly improve conversion rates, especially around the holidays.
And if you make it truly easy, customers will come back again and again for their gifting needs.
On the shipping options page or part of the checkout process ask if they want to send the purchase as a gift.
See how J.Crew does it, and note that the ‘choose from the following’ options only display after the ‘yes’ is chosen above.
Guideline #246. Offer multiple gifting options like messages, e-gifts, wrapping options, and gift kits
At minimum there needs to be a gift receipt, without the price. But it is worth considering other options:
A gift message – easy and pretty standard to include
E-gift – Sort of like a pre-paid gift card, but for a specific item. The recipient organizes shipping.
Themed wrapping options – For girls, boys, men, women, birthdays, christmas, etc.
A gift kit – Where the customer can get the supplies themselves to wrap it. Includes wrapping paper, tissue paper, bow, etc. Assembly required!
Ability to send [products] as a gift (so price tag won’t be there)
The option to include a gift message during checkout.
Guideline #247. Show customers what the gift will look like for the recipient
People want to see what they’re getting, but they really need to know what they’re giving. A large part of giving is the thought and anticipation. The wrapping adds to the charm, if done well it will get gifters coming back to gift more from your store. It’s great for word-of-mouth.
So it’s important to show what it’s going to look like, especially if you offer many of the different wrapping options. Don’t make people guess.
Couldn’t find one of our tested sites that did this, but check out how Norstrom does it:
