"RuffRuff 予約販売" helps reduce lost sales opportunities that occur when items are out of stock, before a new product launches, or while waiting for restock.
It lets you set up pre-orders on your own Shopify store with surprising ease, registering unlimited pre-order products and accepting unlimited pre-orders. It can also prevent customers from ordering pre-order and regular products together in the same order, and can send restock notifications when the arrival date is still undetermined.
It also offers many unique features not found in other pre-order apps, such as a "deferred payment" function that lets you collect payment before the product ships.
Does your Shopify store support eGifts? This article introduces the benefits of supporting eGifts, how to implement the eGift feature, and Shopify apps that support eGifts.
The blog article below introduces recommended Shopify apps for automatically distributing presents and giveaways. Please take a look.
What Is an eGift?
An eGift is a service that lets you send a gift entirely online, even to a recipient whose address you don't know. It's also called a "digital gift" or "social gift."
The biggest characteristic of an eGift is that you can send a gift to someone using digital means such as email or social media, completing the whole process online without needing to know their address. This makes it possible to send heartfelt thanks or congratulations even to acquaintances from social media, or to anyone whose address would be difficult to ask for.
Because of their wide range of uses, eGifts span everything from versatile gift options like Amazon gift cards, Rakuten points, and Visa gift cards, to redemption vouchers for specific restaurants, convenience stores, or e-commerce sites. These are very popular because recipients can choose their favorite product or service whenever they like.
In this way, eGifts are convenient and highly flexible for both the sender and the recipient, and they are contributing to the formation of a new gift-giving culture in today's digital society.
Our own company has also used eGifts to send end-of-year gifts to business partners, and we've really felt how convenient they are.
Benefits of Introducing eGifts on Shopify
1. You can send gifts easily without needing an address
Since eGifts can be sent via email or social media, you don't need to know the recipient's address. This makes it easy to send gifts even to people you know only online, business contacts, or hobby friends—anyone whose address would be hard to ask for.
2. No need to prepare or ship a physical package
There's no packing or shipping hassle involved in sending a physical gift, since the whole process happens online. This saves both time and cost.
3. Recipients can choose the product they want
With a catalog-style eGift, recipients can choose and use whatever they want. This raises the perceived value of the gift and increases satisfaction for both the sender and the recipient.
4. Recipients can redeem it whenever is convenient for them
Because recipients can use the product or service whenever suits them, eGifts solve the problem of physical gifts being hard to receive (for example, when the recipient is out).
5. You can send a gift even on the day itself
Even if you forgot a birthday or need to send a gift on a sudden anniversary, an eGift can be sent right away. This lets you quickly celebrate an important day.
6. Reduced personal information risk
Since eGifts require less of the recipient's personal information, they also offer benefits from a privacy protection standpoint.
Drawbacks of Introducing eGifts on Shopify
1. Recipients need to understand how to use them
If the recipient isn't comfortable using a smartphone or PC, they may not understand how to receive or use the gift. This can require the sender to provide follow-up support.
2. Limited availability of redeemable stores
If the stores or facilities where the eGift can be used are limited, there may be no usable location depending on the recipient's address. This is especially an issue when the recipient's address is unknown.
3. Expiration dates
If the eGift has an expiration date, it can no longer be used once that date passes. This can be a problem for busy recipients who can't use the gift within the time limit.
4. System integration issues
Businesses that operate multiple e-commerce malls or online stores often use a unified management system such as an OMS or WMS, but you need to be aware that eGift orders may not integrate with these systems. This can increase the operational burden for product management, inventory coordination, and shipping.
Please also refer to the blog articles below regarding OMS and WMS.
5. Timing of shipping requests
Recipients who receive a gift don't always request shipment right away, which can leave orders that can't be shipped promptly sitting unresolved for a long time.
How to Support eGifts on Shopify
Use gift cards
The first method is to use Shopify's native gift card feature.
Shopify gift cards can be sold on your online store just like a product—the sender purchases the gift card on your online store, and the recipient receives it by email.
The recipient can then use the gift card to purchase the product they want.
You can also use the "gift card recipient" feature, introduced in v9.0.0 of Shopify's free Online Store 2.0 themes, to send the gift card directly to the recipient at a scheduled date and time, along with a personal message.
* Merchants using an older theme, or a free Online Store 2.0 theme older than v9.0.0, need to update their theme to use this feature.
If you want to use the gift card recipient feature, please also refer to the help page below.
Add recipient fields to a gift card product｜Shopify Help Center
The blog article below introduces Shopify gift cards in detail. Please take a look.
Use a Shopify app
The next method is to use a Shopify app.
Unlike using gift cards, an eGift app lets you send a specific product itself as a gift. It also lets you send eGifts to recipients not just by email but also via LINE or social media, and lets you decorate a custom message stylishly when sending.
Compared with using Shopify gift cards, this method can do a lot more, but it has the drawback of monthly fees and sales commissions.
Shopify Apps That Support eGifts
All in gift
All in gift is a Shopify app provided by Huckleberry Inc. It's known for its rich set of features related to gift sales, including noshi (Japanese gift wrapping labels) and gift wrapping, and it can handle eGifts as well as "regular gifts" where you specify a shipping destination, all within a single app.
This app has also earned "Built for Shopify" status, the mark of an official Shopify app that meets the highest quality standards for speed, usability, and reliability.
The blog article below introduces All in gift's features, pricing plans, and setup method. Please take a look.
The blog article below introduces how to support noshi and gift wrapping on Shopify. Please take a look.
All in gift Pricing Plans
| Plan | Monthly Fee | Sales Commission | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| Regular Gift | $9.90 | - | Noshi, wrapping, and other settings 14-day free trial |
| eGift (Best Price Guarantee) | $9.90 | 3% | All Regular Gift features No-code eGift setup, design customization Digital message card feature (custom design supported) Delivery date/time settings Anonymous eGift setting Catalog gifts the recipient can choose Apparel gifts where the recipient can choose size and color Marketing features (coupons, etc.) 14-day free trial |
| eGift PRO (Best Price Guarantee) | $49 | 3% | Everything in the eGift plan Multi-shipping (multiple recipients) feature Delivery date/time setting for Regular Gift Custom thank-you and gift page creation (API integration) Dedicated gift growth manager 14-day free trial |
AnyGift
AnyGift is a Shopify app provided by AnyReach Inc., a Japan-based company. It specializes in eGifts and is known for unique features such as a "choosable gift (catalog gift)" function that lets the recipient pick the product they want, and a "multi-shipping eGift" function that lets a single payment be sent to multiple recipients. Note that AnyGift is a Japan-domestic-focused service, so its case studies and support are centered on the Japanese market.
The blog article below explains AnyGift's features, pricing plans, and how to set it up. Please take a look.
AnyGift Pricing Plans
| Plan | Monthly Fee | Sales Commission | Details |
|---|---|---|---|
| STANDARD | $99 | 3% | Issuing eGift redemption URLs Marketing features Digital message card feature Gift wrapping feature Gift data list feature OMS integration (Logiless, OpenLogi, NEXT Engine, AnyLogi, and more) Email support |
| EXPERT | $299 | 3% | Everything in the STANDARD plan "Choosable gift" function letting recipients pick their own product (catalog gift function) Multi-shipping eGift function Function allowing the recipient to specify delivery date/time Custom eGift redemption URL and email domain In-person and online meeting support |
| ENTERPRISE | $2000 | 3% | Access to all AnyGift features Additional features and flexible customization available Free listing on gift media Dedicated gift growth manager API integration |
MakeGift
MakeGift is a Shopify app provided by Iroito Inc. It lets you easily add eGift support to products already registered on Shopify. It isn't listed on the Shopify App Store, so if you want to adopt it, you'll need to contact them via the MakeGift service site.
MakeGift Pricing Plans
| Monthly Fee | Sales Commission | Details |
|---|---|---|
| $49 | 3% | All features |
Recommended Shopify Apps to Use Alongside eGift Apps
RuffRuff Order Limits
"RuffRuff Order Limits" is a fully Japanese-supported Shopify app and the first in Japan to use the Cart and Checkout Validation API.
By using the "Cart and Checkout Validation API," it implements order-restriction processing on the server side—something that previously could only be handled on the front end. As a result, it achieves more robust order restrictions that are harder to bypass than existing order-restriction apps.
With a single app, you can enforce quantity limits, amount limits, bundling restrictions, customer restrictions, and hidden payment methods.
With this app, you can restrict the payment method (for example, limiting to credit card payment only) specifically for eGift orders. Please refer to the help page below for detailed setup instructions.
In Closing
Introducing eGifts offers many benefits, such as being able to send a gift even without an address, or on the day itself—while also carrying some drawbacks, such as the gift potentially going unclaimed if the recipient doesn't understand how to use it. We also introduced how to support eGifts on your Shopify store, using either the gift card feature or a Shopify app.
Carefully consider whether your Shopify store truly needs eGift support, and if so, which method best fits your needs.
This time we introduced Shopify apps that support eGifts, but the blog article below introduces Shopify apps that help boost sales, expand customer acquisition, and streamline operations. Please take a look.
