How to Send an E-Gift to Someone Without Feeling Really Awkward About It
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When you're running out of time to buy a special gift for someone, and you don't want to risk any last-minute shipping delays or gift-wrap issues, sending them an e-gift can instantly take the pressure off.
An e-gift can be anything that you buy online that you don't have to physically wrap or deliver — your recipient is usually notified through email that they've received a e-gift from you. It could be a digital gift like an electronic gift card or streaming-platform credit, or it could be a to-be-delivered physical item like a meal-kit subscription that the recipient customizes and schedules for themselves online.
While e-gifts come in handy if you do a lot of last-minute gifting, they can also be great to give to those with specific tastes. Many e-gifts don't have to be used right away, so the recipient can decide at their leisure when they'd like to receive or activate the gift. That said, giving an e-gift can quickly turn from a genius move into a face-palm situation if you don't double-check where and to whom the gift is being sent.
To help keep you in everyone's good graces, here's our expert-approved guide to everything you need to know about e-gifting.
Make Sure It's Useful
Regardless of what the e-gift is, it's important to make sure that you're giving them something that's suitable to their needs and preferences. "The less useful an e-gift is, the less thoughtful a gift recipient will likely perceive it to be," says Patrick Kucharson, author of the Better Gift Coach newsletter. "Research shows that gift recipients generally value the utility of a gift more than the perceived thoughtfulness that was behind it," Kucharson says, citing a 2016 study on the discrepancies between gift givers and recipients.
To that end, make sure you're not shopping for your own preferences when buying an e-gift card. "For example, someone with a severe shellfish allergy isn’t likely to perceive an e-gift card to Red Lobster as very thoughtful," says Kucharson. Or, if your recipient isn't enthusiastic about cooking, buying them an e-gift card to a takeout site may be more suitable than a meal kit subscription.
Prioritizing utility may take some of the "wow" factor out of e-gifting, but it's an important consideration if you want the gift they'll end up receiving to be one they will actually enjoy.
Double-Check the Details
When making an e-gift purchase, you don't want a typo or an inbox spam filter to be the reason it gets lost in the void. "When sending e-gifts, there are a few administrative pitfalls you want to avoid," says Jodi Smith, etiquette expert at Mannersmith Etiquette Consulting. Even if it seems obvious, you always want to double-check the email that you're sending to. "Make sure it is still valid and that you did not mistype anything." You can even send and unsend an email as a test if you're concerned.
But even if you get a confirmation that the e-gift was successfully sent to the right place, there's no telling how crowded their inbox is or how sensitive their junk filters are. Or, there's always the suspicion that receiving an e-gift out of nowhere could look suspicious to them. "Be sure to let the person know that they will be receiving an e-gift from you, so if they see an email from an unfamiliar address, they won't automatically delete it, thinking it's spam," says Smith.
Give Them Something to Open
We get it, though — simply telling someone to check their email can feel a little forced. If you want to make it feel a little more seamless, adding a tangible, complimentary element to your e-gift is a good idea.
"If you will be seeing the recipient in person around the time that you send the e-gift, consider also giving them a smaller, related gift," says Kucharson. "For example, you could also gift microwave popcorn along with a Netflix e-gift card." The tangible gift could also be something as simple as a greeting card that includes as part of the message inside to check their inbox.
However, for those who are gifting from afar, you can keep it even simpler. "If you are sending an e-gift to someone overseas, you might opt for a video message instead," Smith says.
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