Etsy has launched a new AI-powered interactive gifting hub as part of plans to increase its share of the gifting market.
Using a combination of human curation and machine intelligence, Gift Mode has been designed to help shoppers find the perfect present more easily by targeting two key pain points, the firm said in a blog post.
“One, finding the perfect gift, something that feels creative and personal even if the giver doesn’t know a ton about the recipient. Two, relieving the stress around procrastination and the gift arriving on time,” Josh Silverman, CEO of Etsy, said.
According to the firm, it uses machine-learning technology to match gifters with unique items from Etsy sellers, categorized by receipt personas while gift givers can now opt to create a gift teaser for the recipient, including their gift note or tracking information. Additionally, they can give recipient’s a sneak peek of the special item – or leave it a surprise until it arrives.
The new shopping assistant follows an Etsy-commissioned survey which revealed that almost two thirds of Americans struggle to find the perfect gift. Over half of those surveyed have at least one person in their life for whom they find it stressful to buy a gift while 71% have felt anxiety about gift shopping within the past year.
Interestingly, it finds that peak gift giving in relationships happen at the 6-10 year mark, at which point they either plateau or get worse. There is also a generational divide with millennials considering themselves the most thoughtful givers (66%), compared to other generations.
Josh Silverman, CEO of Etsy said: “Our vision is to create a gift shopping experience that supercharges everyone’s gift-giving potential. From consideration, to discovery, to logistics, we will be a tailor-made, one-stop experience for every gifting occasion. Our first order of business is creating a product experience built specifically with gifting in mind.”
He added: “Today’s launch is the first chapter of our investment in the gifting space. We will continue to iterate and enhance Gift Mode’s capabilities, launch new features to help people stay on top of their gifting needs, and make it so that even if they’re late they can still be thoughtful.”
