Why gifting is the growth lever too many brands overlook

Most BFCM playbooks start with discounts. But BFCM is also the biggest gifting moment of the year. In 2024,  86% of shoppers bought a gift during the season.

However, the real growth opportunity is often overlooked. It isn’t the buyer. It’s the recipient.

We asked leading Shopify merchants and tech partners to share their best gifting strategies. Their answers cover everything from guiding first-time gifters to converting recipients into loyal customers. Here’s how the smartest brands are making gifting their growth lever this season.

Guiding First-Time Gifters

During peak, a huge percentage of shoppers are not your typical customers. They are gifters who may not know your brand well and are often buying for someone else. Helping them choose quickly and confidently is the first step to conversion.

Curtis Ulrich, Aviator Nation

“We focus on guiding first-time customers, many of whom are shopping for a loved one and may not know where to start, toward our most popular and best-selling styles. These proven crowd-pleasers make safe, reliable gift options. By highlighting best sellers, we remove the guesswork and ensure a smooth gifting experience.”

‍

Lindsay Potkewitz, Clearer.io

“Many brands focus only on promotions and discounts, but they often overlook the gifting experience itself. Personalized product recommendations, curated bundles, and easy gift messaging can turn a standard purchase into a memorable one. Gifting is a chance to create long-term customer relationships and deliver experiences that people actually remember (and talk about).”

‍
Laura Davies, The Kid Collective

“We curate gift collections by age and price point, and promote them across channels. Pair that with easy gift messaging at checkout and premium packaging, and customers feel confident their gift will land well.”

‍

Catherine Dix, Waterdrop

“Each year, each season we spend time listening to our community and getting feedback on what they like, don’t like or what they’re looking for. We then adapt and create custom packages and gifting options.”

‍

Scott Goodman, Okendo

“A Gift Guide Quiz is one of the simplest ways to remove choice paralysis. Segment recommendations into clear paths budget, color, or gender—and make sure the quiz is front and center across your homepage, nav, and campaigns.”

‍Inez Wihardjo, Gigit AI

“Most brands obsess over promotions, but they forget that gift shoppers are fundamentally different from everyday customers: they’re buying for someone else, which means they often feel uncertain. The overlooked opportunity? Helping gift buyers feel confident in their choice by offering real-time guidance, context, and clarity — just like a store associate would.”

‍

💡 Giftnote POV: First-time gifters are often unsure where to start. By making gifting simple and personalized, brands remove friction and capture two potential customers in one order — the gifter and the recipient. 

Turning One Gift Into Two Customers

Every gift is an introduction. You don’t just acquire a buyer, you also reach a recipient who might never have found your brand otherwise.

Emma Thomson, Baby Village

“A gift purchase introduces us to two customers at once—the buyer and the recipient—making it a rare chance to create a double first impression. For us, gifting is an acquisition channel, a retention driver, and a powerful brand builder.”

Scott Goodman, Okendo

“We think about three stages: discovery via a quiz, reinforcement through reviews, and long-term loyalty via points. Assign loyalty rewards to both the giver and the receiver to extend the relationship and increase LTV.”

Lindsay Potkewitz, Clearer.io

“Gifting introduces new potential fans to your brand. By making it easy for recipients to explore your catalog, see trusted reviews, and engage with loyalty programs, brands can turn a one-time gift into repeat purchases. Every gift opens the door to a new long-term customer.”

💡 Giftnote POV: Our data shows that 74% of gift recipients are net-new customers. Every gift is an acquisition moment and one of the lowest CAC opportunities available to brands.

Simplifying the Gifting Experience

Peak Season is already overwhelming for shoppers. Brands that make gifting feel simple and seamless not only convert better, they also win long-term loyalty.

‍
Curtis Ulrich, Aviator Nation

“Lean all the way into gifting. Whether that’s through easy-to-send gift cards, gift messaging at checkout, or streamlined delivery, give customers the tools to gift confidently. Simplifying the process not only boosts sales but also deepens brand loyalty.”

Emma Thomson, Baby Village

“Let the anticipation build, but keep it simple. Peak season is busy and emotional, and your role is to make sure the customer gets what they want—and a little more.”

 
Cam Richardson, PaySquad

“Group gifting! With so much of our lives organised in group chats, friends and families aren’t just sharing memes, they’re coordinating their gifting. People love the idea of chipping in together for something bigger and more meaningful, but most checkouts are still built for solo shoppers. Brands that enable group gifting don’t just make life easier; they unlock bigger baskets, acquire more customers, and create more excitement.”

Laura Davies, The Kid Collective

“Customers need confidence. Social proof, reviews, clear delivery messaging, and reliable fulfilment all reduce friction and decision fatigue.”
‍

Lindsay Potkewitz, Clearer.io

“Enhanced product discovery makes it easy for shoppers to find the right gift without the stress of endless scrolling. When customers can quickly find a gift that matches their recipient’s tastes, conversion rates and gifting revenue naturally increase.”
‍

💡 Giftnote POV: Whether it’s group gifting, curated collections, or automated flows, the goal is the same: remove friction. Giftnote ensures every product is instantly giftable and every order feels personal.

The Recipient Effect

The buyer isn’t the end of the story. Recipients are often net-new to your brand, and how you treat them determines whether they become loyal fans.

Emma Thomson, Baby Village

“Never underestimate the power of the recipient. They might not have chosen you the first time, but if their experience is memorable, they could become your most valuable customer.”

Cam Richardson, PaySquad

“Offering flexible payments isn’t just a feature, it’s a way to show you understand your customers. Position payment options in real-world contexts — ‘split it with your siblings’ — and you build affinity beyond the first purchase.”

‍

Catherine Dix, Waterdrop

“It needs to be easy and seamless. Using an app like Giftnote gives our brand flexibility for our community to gift and add personal touches — no more random gifts turning up on doorsteps having no idea who they are from!”

‍

Inez Wihardjo, Gigit AI

“Most brands treat holiday gifting as a one-and-done transactional spike. But every gifter and recipient is actually a high-potential entry point into your ecosystem. The key is using context to personalize the next touchpoint.

‍

‍💡 Giftnote POV: Recipients are the highest-intent audience you’ll reach this BFCM. With Giftnote, brands capture recipient data and convert them into long-term customers — turning every gift into a growth loop.

 BFCM Tips From the Frontline

Every brand we spoke to shared one clear message: lean into gifting early and make it simple.

• Aviator Nation: Keep gifters in mind when refining navigation, messaging, and campaigns.
• Baby Village: Automate gifting flows, keep them beautifully branded, and scale without losing personal touch.
• Waterdrop: Gift cards don’t count as gifting. Create one-stop-shop experiences and incentivize multi-product purchases (with perks shoppers can keep).
• Okendo: Place quizzes prominently and reward both givers and receivers with loyalty points.
• PaySquad: Don’t just add payment options — tell the story behind them so customers feel seen.
• The Kid Collective: Use curated collections and proactive delivery comms to reduce decision fatigue.
• Clearer.io: Drive smart growth for hundreds of eCommerce brands by powering a suite of industry-leading Shopify apps.
• Gigit AI: Personalize the on-site experience so every gift feels like the perfect match.

Make Every Order Giftable

The message from merchants is clear: gifting is not a seasonal afterthought, it’s a growth strategy. By making gifting simple, memorable, and recipient-first, brands can capture net-new customers, increase AOV, and build loyalty that lasts well beyond the holidays.

Giftnote powers this at scale by making every order giftable, capturing recipient data, and automating conversion flows.

Install Giftnote today to turn BFCM into your most profitable growth moment.

‍