Why uggy launches Gift.cool! ? Our CEO Dimitri Ducourtieux explains.
This week, we unveiled Gift.cool! the very first app to reinvent the gift experience with a fun, fast and committed gesture. Much more than a new product, it's an ambitious project that's close to our personal hearts.
👉 Why yet another gift card?
Gift vouchers first appeared in the 90s, with a limited network of affiliated retailers. Then came multi-brand cards, boxes and finally e-cards, which now use "bank card" networks to provide a global acceptance network, but with no added value for retailers.
Since 2020, the gift card has increasingly become a financial flow: "prepaid", "bank card", "open banking"...
In 2024, we needed a new, more responsible experience that gave new meaning to the act of giving.
Gift.cool puts people back at the heart of the gift experience:
- For individuals: give pleasure with a personalized gift that can be used immediately downstairs.
- For retailers: join a dynamic network that gives you the same visibility as the big names.
- For companies: revitalize the local economy while simplifying the gift experience for their employees.
👉 Why is it a game changer?
Because Gift.cool is much more than a gift card! It's an ecosystem that promotes both small businesses and major retailers, while eliminating plastic cards and supporting the local economy. In short, it's a gift that does good - for recipients, merchants, and the planet. 🍀
👉 Where do we start from?
Today, we're launching the app with a network of 30,000 businesses, 50% of which are independent. Shopkeepers can sign up directly on gift.cool, so the more noise we make, the more we'll have!
At uggy, we issue over €200 million in gift cards a year, and we're going to do everything we can to encourage our customers to redirect some of this volume to this new ecosystem. Of course, we're not waiting for it to happen on its own! So we've already signed a few major partnerships to guarantee volumes and acquisition solutions for our merchants. More on this as soon as our technical teams are ready... 🥁
👉 How can you help us?
Gift.cool will only work if everyone participates:
- Consumers can easily give a meaningful gift at the other end of France.
- Merchants to sign up, talk about the app and share their ideas for improvements.
- Companies & CSEs to boost the local economy and offer a different gift experience; for me, it's one of the responsibilities of companies to animate the surrounding trade.
- Towns and local authorities to distribute the solution to retailers and residents.
Want to join the adventure? We'd love to hear from you!
The more of us there are, the greater the impact. 👊
