Giftiicon, the renowned Korean gifting platform has launched in India with a new app startup specifically designed for the Indian market. Founded by father-daughter duo Nakkyun Chong and Ji Hyun Chong, the platform focuses on the casual gifting market where the act of giving and receiving gifts becomes instantaneous, impulsive and hassle free. The app enables users to send a gift of their choice in just 30 seconds through SMS and WhatsApp without necessarily knowing the address of the recipient.
Aimed at millennials and Gen Z, the concept behind the platform is to simplify the gifting process and eliminate cumbersome registration requirements along with personal information. Particularly in the post-Covid era when people are socially distanced yet want to retain their human connections, Giftiicon offers the perfect low-contact gifting option for anyone with a smartphone.
Giftiicon allows users to pick from multiple categories of gifts listed on the platform, from F&B and Cosmetics to Home Decor and Flowers. At the time of redemption, users have the option of visiting the store to pick up the gift or request a pick-up via apps like Dunzo who is Giftiicon’s delivery partner. They also provide the option of scheduling a gift so that users remember important dates like birthdays or anniversaries. There is also a Gen Z focused unique feature called ‘Tease’, that lets users request a gift.
For the merchant, Giftiicon enables pan-India marketing and requires no extra inventory investment as products are only required when the gift is paid for. Giftiicon also has tie-ups with payment gateways, which eliminates the hassle of POS integration and encourages immediate purchases.
Commenting on the launch Ji Hyun, Co-Founder and COO – The idea of Giftiicon came from the observation that people often want to build connections with others through gifts but refrain from doing so as they do not know the recipient’s personal information. Our aim is to provide an emotion-driven and hassle-free gifting experience to connect people, form social bonds, and share emotions in today’s hyper digitized world. We hope our platform can establish a new paradigm in the e-gifting culture and promote instant and casual gifting among smartphone users across India.
She adds, “Giftiicon is a proven business model in South Korea as we hit GMV 4.5B USD last year with over 24 million users using the platform and over 20 million transactions taking place every month. The Gifting market globally is poised to reach 127B by 2024, and the online gifting market is expected to grow up to 10B GMV. Since India is an incredibly young country with smartphone penetration rate growing in parallel, the e-gifting market has potential to grow more than expected. In addition, as an aggregator we are currently onboarding well-known global and national franchised brands on our platform to further expand our customer base.”
The 13 billion population market in India is a huge opportunity today, especially due to increased earnings and simultaneous growth in the spending pattern. With many premium brands across multiple categories onboarded, Giftiicon aims to appeal to these working professionals based in Tier-1 cities where there are multiple brand outlets that recipients can collect their gifts from. The overarching mission of the platform is to strengthen emotional bonds through no-hassle gifting, not despite today’s digital-first culture but as a key part of it.
About Giftiicon -Giftiicon India was incorporated in 2019 and is headquartered out of Bangalore, India. Founded by Mr Nakkyun Chong and Ms Ji Hyun Chong, Giftiicon enables users to send a gift of their choice in just 30 seconds through SMS and whatsapp without necessarily knowing the address of the recipient. The platform focuses on the casual gifting market where the act of giving and receiving gifts becomes purely about joy and eliminates the hassle. Giftiicon is currently available as a mobile app on Android and iOS Bangalore only and aims to expand Pan India by the end of this year.
With the gifting market set to hit $127 billion by 2024, Giftiicon is optimistic that its platform is here to stay.
Mr. Nakkyun Chong is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer at Giftiicon Global. An entrepreneur, with 29 years of global experience in the fields of mobile & online commerce, telecommunications and Internet & Cable TV media. He has founded 10 companies with a total investment of U$ 1Billion, managed 14 mergers and acquisitions and led teams of up to 1000 employees.
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