Darien-based GiftFly has developed and is marketing a free app that seeks to upend the gift card business and replace it with the flash of a smart screen.
Gift cards have become a $100 billion industry, according to GiftFly, with 60 percent of purchases going unused.
In its rollout statement, the company said, “GiftFly is a new social and mobile online gift card service providing a long-awaited alternative to those antiquated plastic gift cards.” The GiftFly app “affords anyone the opportunity to send a personalized online gift card redeemable as cash or to be used at any local, favorite business at any time, to anyone across the country instantly.”
The app defeats what GiftFly sees as a card-giving dilemma: “If the recipient lives far away, the buyer may be limited to those large commercial chain stores and restaurants, making the art of gift-giving a bit impersonal.”
On the retail end: “Merchants need do nothing more than sign up and download the GiftFly mobile app available in the iTunes App Store. Plastic cards and expensive upfront fees are replaced by a completely free app that lets employees scan codes, check the sales history of gift cards and even refund cards.”
Consumers visit the GiftFly website, choose a friend on Facebook or via email or text, and design their gift card with any amount of money.
Two types of cards are available: the cash card, which can be deposited directly into PayPal or bank accounts instantly, and the merchant card, which can be chosen through the built-in Yelp search tool and is then redeemable at participating shops.
