<p>According to a report by management consulting firm Technopak, the online gifting market in India is estimated to be about $40-42 billion. While most reports peg the market north of $30 billion, most agree that experience gifting claims a substantial share and is bound to grow. <br /><br /></p>.<p>While the trend of experience gifting has been catching up, it is because of its business proposition that Giftxoxo decided to introduce the same on its platform. Founded in May 2012, by Manoj Agarwal, Sumit Khandelwal, Kushal Agarwal and Abhishek Kumar, the company offers gifting solutions.<br /><br />“When we started off with product gifting, we found that it can get passe.<br /><br /> Moreover, with vouchers, the margins are very low at about 3-5%. That is when we ventured into experience gifting. The margins in experience gifting can go up to 20-25%,” said Abhishek Kumar, in an interaction with Deccan Herald. <br /><br /> Having tied-up with more than 300 leading brands, which provide gift vouchers, Kumar said, “Vouchers are a good catch point for corporates. So, while we still get requests for those, we are able to convert such leads into experience customers and we are actually witnessing this trend picking up.”<br /><br /> Positioned as a marketplace for curated experiences, the company has found that adventure, gourmet and travel to be the top preferred categories in experience gifting. “Activities such as flying a plane, horse riding and splurging on a gourmet meal, among others, are things one wouldn’t voluntarily spend on but wishes to enjoy. It is for this precise reason that they gain interest from customers when it comes to gifting. Even with corporates, we have noticed that they are able to retain customers by luring them with experiences,” he said. <br /><br />Giftxoxo is also a cloud-based employee rewards and recognition platform. Its SaaS platform — ‘XoxoEngage’ is being used by various corporates globally and in India to manage employee reward and recognition programmes, which can be integrated with its human resource management system. With 700 corporates including Infosys, L&T, First American and American Express in its clientele, the company plans to expand its reach to cover 2,500 by the end of this year. <br /><br />“This year, we plan to reach out to more companies, especially in tier-2 cities. Our target is to hit the Rs 100 crore revenue mark by the end of FY2017,” he said.The Bengaluru-based company has raised Rs 1 crore angel investment from Mumbai-based Kshatriya Ventures in January 2013. Now it plans to raise $4-5 million in a period of six months to one year. “This next round of funds will be used to strengthen marketing and sales, besides enabling technology in a better manner,” said Kumar.<br /><br />With its mobile app Frogo, which boasts of 40,000 downloads, the company reaches out to individual customers. “Through our various platforms including Giftxoxo, XoxoEngage and Frogo, the ultimate aim is to become the go-to marketplace for curated experiences, whether it is B2B or B2C,” said Kumar. </p>
<p>According to a report by management consulting firm Technopak, the online gifting market in India is estimated to be about $40-42 billion. While most reports peg the market north of $30 billion, most agree that experience gifting claims a substantial share and is bound to grow. <br /><br /></p>.<p>While the trend of experience gifting has been catching up, it is because of its business proposition that Giftxoxo decided to introduce the same on its platform. Founded in May 2012, by Manoj Agarwal, Sumit Khandelwal, Kushal Agarwal and Abhishek Kumar, the company offers gifting solutions.<br /><br />“When we started off with product gifting, we found that it can get passe.<br /><br /> Moreover, with vouchers, the margins are very low at about 3-5%. That is when we ventured into experience gifting. The margins in experience gifting can go up to 20-25%,” said Abhishek Kumar, in an interaction with Deccan Herald. <br /><br /> Having tied-up with more than 300 leading brands, which provide gift vouchers, Kumar said, “Vouchers are a good catch point for corporates. So, while we still get requests for those, we are able to convert such leads into experience customers and we are actually witnessing this trend picking up.”<br /><br /> Positioned as a marketplace for curated experiences, the company has found that adventure, gourmet and travel to be the top preferred categories in experience gifting. “Activities such as flying a plane, horse riding and splurging on a gourmet meal, among others, are things one wouldn’t voluntarily spend on but wishes to enjoy. It is for this precise reason that they gain interest from customers when it comes to gifting. Even with corporates, we have noticed that they are able to retain customers by luring them with experiences,” he said. <br /><br />Giftxoxo is also a cloud-based employee rewards and recognition platform. Its SaaS platform — ‘XoxoEngage’ is being used by various corporates globally and in India to manage employee reward and recognition programmes, which can be integrated with its human resource management system. With 700 corporates including Infosys, L&T, First American and American Express in its clientele, the company plans to expand its reach to cover 2,500 by the end of this year. <br /><br />“This year, we plan to reach out to more companies, especially in tier-2 cities. Our target is to hit the Rs 100 crore revenue mark by the end of FY2017,” he said.The Bengaluru-based company has raised Rs 1 crore angel investment from Mumbai-based Kshatriya Ventures in January 2013. Now it plans to raise $4-5 million in a period of six months to one year. “This next round of funds will be used to strengthen marketing and sales, besides enabling technology in a better manner,” said Kumar.<br /><br />With its mobile app Frogo, which boasts of 40,000 downloads, the company reaches out to individual customers. “Through our various platforms including Giftxoxo, XoxoEngage and Frogo, the ultimate aim is to become the go-to marketplace for curated experiences, whether it is B2B or B2C,” said Kumar. </p>
