Joshua Franklin Wiedeman

Gifting Features

Gifting features let users buy or send your product to someone else from inside the product. This goes beyond a gift card on a separate page. Sending the product to a friend should be as easy as sharing a link. Gift subscriptions, gifted trials, and “send this to a friend” buttons are common forms.

How it works

Gifting combines three things: people like giving, a gift from a friend carries more trust than an ad, and the recipient pays nothing to try the product. The recipient starts with zero financial risk and a personal recommendation.

How to do it

  1. Pick what to offer as a gift. For subscriptions, a free month or extended trial. For e-commerce, a popular, broadly appealing item. For SaaS, time-limited premium access. The gift should show core value without asking the recipient to commit.
  2. Build a short gifting flow: a visible “Gift this” button, the recipient’s name and email (or a shareable link), an optional personal message, and payment (or just “Send” for free gifts).
  3. Build the receiving side. The recipient gets a message that says who sent the gift, what it is, and one button to claim it. Claiming should take as few steps as possible.
  4. Prompt gifting around holidays and birthdays, and after user milestones, for example “Share this with a friend.”
  5. Track each step: gifts started, gifts sent, gifts opened, gifts claimed, and recipient retention at 7, 30, and 90 days.

What to measure

  • Gift completion rate — gifts sent divided by gifting flows started.
  • Gift claim rate — gifts claimed divided by gifts sent.
  • Gifted user retention and LTV — retention and lifetime value of gift recipients compared with users from other channels.

Best practices

  • Offer a free gift option (a trial, a free month, a sample) next to paid gifting. Free gifts usually far outnumber paid ones.
  • Make the gift message personal: the sender’s name, their note, and a simple design.
  • Prompt after a good moment, such as finishing a book, completing a workout, or a helpful support interaction.

Common pitfalls

  • Hiding the gift button in settings. Put it on product pages, in main navigation, and in purchase confirmations.
  • Giving recipients the standard onboarding. Mention the gift and the sender in their welcome messages.
  • No reminder for unclaimed gifts. Send a short reminder a few days later, for example “Sarah sent you a gift that’s still waiting.”