I had only one thought when I stumbled upon Gifts.com: “Sweet Jesus, I’m saved!”
Usually I’m a pretty creative gift-giver. Birthdays and anniversaries do not daunt me. Then Christmas finds me clutching a “nice” list that stretches for miles, trying to avoid an angry mall crowd bound to test the heartiest of shoppers.
I don’t want my favorite people to have just anything, either. Mine need the perfect gift, the gift that says I know them well enough to choose something they’ll enjoy and looks expensive enough to say I care. By the time I’ve checked off every last name, the huge headache hardly seems worth it.
Luckily, I’m not the only one who feels this way. In 2005, Gifts.com launched as a business under InterActiveCorp. Gifts.com does not sell merchandise; they are solely a free service site dedicated to helping you find the “aha!” gift.
Better than Amazon.com and others like it, Gifts.com offers a personal level that the “things you may also like” widget can never touch. Visitors shop four different ways: by category, occasion, recipient, or personality.
If your best friend is going abroad next semester, you already know you want something to do with travel. Click on ‘Category’ and sort through gifts listed as travel-related until you find what you need.
‘Occasion’ isn’t hard to figure out. Every seasonal holiday known is available for browsing. You may, however, find many new holidays you never dreamed existed. I can only guess who came up with National Bosses Day (October 16th), but who decided October 18th was Sweetest Day? More importantly, what is Sweetest Day? According to the Web site it is another chance to show your sweetheart you love them - because clearly Valentine’s Day isn’t enough. The point is, if there is a special day, you’ll find something for it here.
Even if you know the person well, you may not always have an idea what you should get them. Gifts.com provides a ‘recipient’ filter for such situations. From there you can browse through popular gift items, Top Gift Guru Picks, or refine your search by age and interest.
The most ingenious facet of Gifts.com is their interactive ‘Personality Profiler’. First choose a gender and an age group from preschool to senior. Answer four to six multiple-choice questions about what your recipient does with their weekends, what their favorite foods are, and what activities they do most often. The Gift Gurus will then categorize your friend with a cute animated version of their personality based on your responses.
Article comments
1 - Stephen Thompson
The My Wish Wand website offers a comparative service with the focus on allowing children to create a gift wishlist so that family members to see what they want for Christmas. The principle being to avoid giving unwanted or duplicate gifts and reduce waste.
There is also a gift ideas tool that suggests presents for people based on their age, gender and personality traits. The gift ideas are taken from a selection of recommended retailers and these can also be visited as a virtual shopping mall or by theme, e.g. gifts for mum, presents for mums to be, etc.