GiftWrap: A Self-Rescue Guide from a “Straight Man”

The idea for GiftWrap originated from the personal needs of a “steel straight man.” He faced a problem that troubles many straight men: not knowing what gift to give his wife. For him, social relationships—including his wife, family, and coworkers—require gift-giving, and he spends a significant amount of time maintaining these social connections.

At the same time, he discovered that he is not the only “steel straight man” with this problem. Not only straight men, but many people also have needs related to gift recommendations, packaging, and delivery due to social demands.

Driven by a strong desire to find a solution, he came up with an idea: why not use large language models and artificial intelligence technology to accurately help people choose very suitable gifts in just a few minutes or even less?

Through research, the GiftWrap team found that the total annual expenditure on gifts in the United States reaches $358 billion, equivalent to 3% of each household’s annual spending. This number is enormous.

Surprisingly, in 2021 alone, $150 billion worth of gifts were returned in the United States, meaning that more than one-third of gifts were either returned or discarded after being sent. This waste is substantial.

Therefore, the GiftWrap team believes that through precise recommendations and innovative models, they can help people find better gifts while reducing environmental waste. Although GiftWrap is mainly dedicated to the consumer market (To C), they also have many B2B clients, such as real estate agents, insurance brokers, and lawyers. These high-net-worth clients also use GiftWrap to send gifts.

GiftWrap: Never Worry About Giving “Impractical” Gifts Again

Currently, GiftWrap’s products are mainly divided into two aspects.

First is the AI-based recommendation system. The backend of GiftWrap offers many highly suitable gift options and provides precise recommendations by understanding the user’s semantics. This part primarily involves gift recommendations. Once the user sends a gift, GiftWrap implements a special measure for the recipient. The giver can first send the gift in the form of an e-card. If the recipient does not like the gift chosen by the giver, the user can exchange the gift online. After the exchange, the recipient can accept the new gift, thereby eliminating the need to return an unwanted gift.

Additionally, if the recipient finds something better, they can add some amount to purchase it. If the user feels they do not need any gift at the moment, they can convert the gift into points stored in their account. By accumulating these points, users can even achieve larger goals, such as traveling to Hawaii. GiftWrap can help users realize these dreams by accumulating points to fulfill other customer ideas.

GiftWrap: Your Personal “Social Assistant”

It is worth mentioning that even when the user knows almost nothing about the recipient, just by providing a link, the platform can find the most suitable gift for the user. Additionally, the website offers other features, such as a “reminder” function. Users can import their friend relationships, helping them monitor who is about to have a birthday or has a celebratory event, with the platform automatically reminding and managing these occasions.

The platform also supports direct import of information from Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google Calendar, dynamically obtaining data in the backend and recommending gifts based on the user’s profile, interests, professional background, and educational background. Of course, users can also manually input this information. These features allow users to enjoy a more convenient and personalized service experience.

If we were to choose the most innovative aspects of GiftWrap, two must be highlighted because these two aspects complement each other.

First, the direct recommendation by AI through understanding natural language is the first innovation point. When users do not know what to buy, this technology can help them complete the purchasing process. This innovation greatly saves users time and cost in conducting research.

Another innovation point is GiftWrap’s integration with the backend supply chain or merchant suppliers. Because there are many B2B merchants, users may want to purchase their products but often cannot find suitable channels, and similarly, merchants cannot find potential users. Therefore, through AI, they can better match information from both sides, achieving better connections.