Dubai: Are you the sort who is always short of time to pick up a gift for a dear one? Or can’t make up your mind given the sheer number of options? Then let someone else make the decision for you … and better still deliver it.
The UAE is seeing a host of gifting and special occasion service providers vying for attention, with subscribers and investors alike. They go far beyond the typical delivery of flowers and a box of chocolates. And what’s been an extremely personal experience — the picking up of a gift and handing it over — has turned into a full-fledged business model.
One such is joi, which lets customers use its app or portal to come up with highly personalised gifting choices. And which can be delivered on the same day, “wherever they may be at that moment”, said Alper Celen, co-CEO at the business which launched operations just over a year ago. “We work with our merchant partners to prepare the gifts, in many cases well-regarded brands in the UAE and Saudi Arabia. And provide premium delivery with our “Agents of joi”, who are specially trained to make recipients feel even more special on their special day.” (Then there are the “singing telegrams”, with renditions of “Happy Birthday” and the Nat King Cole ballad “L.O.V.E.”)
Dubai and the UAE are ripe for new-fangled services that the digital economy is creating. For any consumer out there with a need, there is likely to be an app — and a service provider at the end of it — willing to fulfil it. Think app-based takeaway/delivery services — it’s there. A pick up and drop off for your laundry? It’s available in Dubai, via Laundrybox. (And for car-hailing services? Well, you know the answer.)
“We see a large appetite from the demand side (for gifting options), where people gift often, and their basket size is quite large in comparison to other markets, including the West,” said Celen. “We are addressing a number of pain points with our offering. This includes subscription gifting, which is a largely under-addressed market.
“People in the GCC value convenience a lot higher than in the west. This is evident across the board, from the many concierge services to valet parking at shopping malls, airports and even hospitals.”
Gifting services — either one-off or subscription-based — are also winning over investors with a keen eye to cash in on the next big thing.
Joi is currently finalising a seed round of $1.2 million in new funding. It has already raised more than $900,000. After targeting Dubai as the launch market, it has since expanded reach to Abu Dhabi and Sharjah as well as Riyadh and Jeddah. A development centre is based in Cairo. In between, it also came up with a premium add-on to its offering, in the form of “joi Luxury”.
Its pricing strategy does cut a wide swathe. It is up to the customer to decide how far he needs to go to please the intended recipient. For the last Valentine’s Day, joi came up with a Dh30,000 package whereby the recipient can have the entire room done up in her favourite flowers. And there were add-ons that included a musician to serenade, a private chef, and even a babysitter if the need was there. The price tag? A substantial Dh400,000.
In the UAE, gifting can be a priceless opportunity.
A gift delivery provider changes strategy
Home Gift Box came into being based on a simple idea — deliver a goody bag for homeowners in Dubai as they move into their new address. The gift could be from the concerned developer or estate, or anyone who thinks the occasion demanded a gift.
Now, the business behind it is effecting a makeover. From May, it is turning itself into a digital platform and launching a gift card service. Recipients can a”ccess the various gifts, offers, promotions and freebies that the box” provides, but through anonline site.
