Traditional online gift-giving often requires the sender to know the recipient's physical address, which can be a barrier to spontaneous, thoughtful gifting. This limitation can lead to missed opportunities for meaningful connections and creates an uncomfortable experience for both the sender and recipient. Without knowing the recipient’s address users are limited to gift cards or a site like giftagram or sendosos whose focus on B2B corporate gifting only offers pre-selected items to choose from.

‍

Research Research & Insights

The corporate gifting market is expanding rapidly, valued at $242 billion in 2021 and expected to hit $312 billion by 2025 with a 7.8% annual growth rate. This rise is being driven by companies focusing more on employee engagement, client appreciation, and retention, especially in today’s hybrid work world where staying connected with employees is tough.

Thoughtful, personalized gifting has become key to keeping teams engaged especially when face-to-face interactions are limited. According to Gallup, companies that are great at employee recognition are 12 times more likely to succeed. Harvard Business Review also reports that gifting boosts customer retention by 5-10% and can increase sales by 15-20%.

However, more people are working remotely which is leading to a growing challenge of outdated or inconsistent addresses. McKinsey found that 58% of U.S. employees work remotely at least part-time, and Sendoso reports that 35% of corporate gifts never even make it to the recipient because of incorrect addresses. Given that 40% of employees now prefer digital gifts or e-gift cards, the demand for address-free gifting solutions is on the up, placing Regalooo as a strong product to meet the evolving needs of the corporate gifting space.

‍

User Pain Points

We interviewed 5 individuals who have corporate jobs ranging from office managers to executive assistants to try and identify User Pain points when it comes to corporate gifting without having a recipients physical address and found the following:

‍

Gift Sender:

Difficulty in Sending Gifts Without an Address: "I find it frustrating to ask for recipients' shipping addresses when sending gifts, which often leads to delays and awkward interactions."

Lack of Personalization Without an Address: "I feel restricted to impersonal gift cards or generic options when I don’t have the recipient’s address, which takes away the personal touch I want to give."

Limited Gift Selection on Corporate Platforms: "I'm annoyed by corporate gifting platforms that offer limited, pre-selected options, and not having a recipient’s physical address shouldn't stop me from choosing something meaningful."

‍

Gift Receiver:

Discomfort in Sharing Personal Information: "I feel uneasy sharing my home address with colleagues or acquaintances for gifts, which makes thoughtful gestures feel invasive."

Hesitation to Participate Due to Privacy Concerns: "I avoid participating in corporate gifting because I don’t want to give out my personal information, even though I value the gesture."

Desire for More Personal and Thoughtful Gifts: "While I appreciate being recognized, I would rather receive thoughtful, personalized gifts instead of generic gift cards or impersonal items like alcohol."

‍

Feedback

After conducting our feedback survey, users provided the following feedback when asked if they would use a site like Regalooo to manage their gifting needs without requiring the recipient's address.

User Concern About Gift Delivery: Participants worry about ensuring that gifts are delivered correctly. They want transparent address confirmation and tracking features to build trust.
Privacy and Security Concerns: Recipients are hesitant to provide their home address due to fears of data leaks. Clear communication about encryption, privacy policies, and security certifications, along with options like two-factor authentication, could alleviate concerns.
Notification Preferences: Users prefer flexibility in how they receive gift-related updates (e.g., email, SMS, in-app), with some wary of texts due to phishing risks. With most preferring email as their method of choice.
Ease of Use: Users want a simple, streamlined process with clear steps, especially when it comes to payment and recipient address input.
Trust & Social Proof: Users want to see reviews or proof that the platform is trustworthy before using it, particularly given the sensitivity of personal information.
Data Leakage Concerns: Users are worried about data leaks and want reassurance that recipient information is kept anonymous and securely handled.

We concluded that we should address these concerns by focusing on simplicity, transparency, and strong privacy/security practices to enhance user experience.

‍

Solution Explanation

Based on our target users’ pain points, we knew we wanted to work on the following features:

Sender Features:

Smooth Transaction Process: Users can navigate Regalooo’s e-commerce platform and complete transactions without needing the recipient’s shipping address.
Gift Selection and Email Entry: Users can select a gift and simply enter the recipient’s email to send a gift without requiring their address.
Personalized Gift Messaging: Users can personalize gifts with custom messages, allowing recipients to know who the gift is from and the reason behind it.
Claim Notification: Users receive notifications when their gift is claimed, confirming that the recipient has accepted it and provided their address.

Recipient Features:

Trustworthy Gift Notification: Recipients receive clear and trustworthy emails with the option to claim their gifts.
Easy Gift Claiming Process: Recipients can click a link in the email to claim their gifts effortlessly without navigating a complicated process.
Secure Address Submission: Recipients can securely provide their delivery address after receiving the gift notification, ensuring their privacy is protected.
Address Confirmation: Recipients receive confirmation once they’ve entered their address, providing assurance that their gift is on its way.

‍

Mock Ups

LOFI:

HIFI

‍

Iterative Design Learnings

USER FEEDBACK HERE

Positive Feedback:

Users felt as though the product was clear and easy to use.
Users praised the connected links in the gift recipient’s email, which makes the approval process fast and seamless.
Users felt the check-out process was fast and seamless
Recipients likes the privacy aspect of approving gifts without needing to give away their address and risking their own privacy.

Constructive Criticism:

Users mentioned the inclusion of an address book / syncing their contacts for quick gifting.
Users would like a better understanding of when I am charged for the product.
Users would like to see the gift I am accepting before I accept it.

‍

Technical implementation

Where is it hosted?

The back-end is hosted on Render ( render.com), we choose to use render for the back-end because the deployment process is as easy as a click of a button.
The Front-end is hosted on Vercel (www.vercel.com), we choose Vercel for the front-end hosting because They offer free hosting and sync with Github and redeploy the site seamlessly everytime there's a commit update. Making deployment a breeze.

What is your tech stack?

Front-end: React, TypeScript, Tailwindsome text
- We chose React for its responsiveness, stability, and seamless integration with testing frameworks, ensuring efficient performance and maintainability.
Backend: Python, Flask, PostgresSQLsome text
- We chose Python Flask with PostgreSQL for its simplicity, flexibility, and strong database integration, enabling efficient back-end development and scalable data management.

‍

High level journey of a request

‍

Technical challenges

What was the hardest part of development?

Getting the email token from the backend to link up with the Front end Tokens
Ensuring a smooth, secure, and seamless user experience between the recipient's acceptance and providing their address was challenging.This involved integrating secure token-based authentication, managing links that expire correctly, and ensuring privacy and security throughout the process.

Does your app have any scaling issues?

To our knowledge no

What are some key takeaways?

Communication helps when working with other developers, PM’s and Designers

‍

Future Steps

Although we are undecided on whether we will continue on the project, below are the features which we’d like to include to improve the usability of the platform.

Address Security. Focus on how to ensure the recipient’s address is secure.
Texting Option: Ability for recipients to receive gift notifications through text as well as email
Gift Visibility: Ability for recipients to view gift before accepting
Mobile: Extend the platform for mobile user
Additional Features: Inclusion of address book to save contacts for future gift sending.
Delivery Services: Partnership with delivery services to ensure sender and recipients are updated on gift delivery.
Retailers: Partner will retailers to have real products available for purchase.

‍

‍

Learnings

Product Manager Learnings:

Kayla Rodriguez

My experience with Co.Labs has been fantastic. I learned how to collaborate with developers and designers to track and turn ideas into tangible products, while also managing our workflows to balance the needs of both teams. This journey has taught me how to navigate the pivots and challenges that arise in bringing a product to life.

Designer Learnings:

Martin Figueroa

Co.Lab has given me the experience of working on an MVP project, which required focusing on the most important aspects to flesh out and design in order to deliver tasks in a timely manner. I also had the opportunity to work with and be supported by a very talented team from across the country.

Designer Learnings:

Jo Sturdivant

Adapting to an Established Team: Joining the team in week 6 of 8 was challenging, as I had to quickly adapt to existing workflows, dynamics, and goals. This mirrors real-world situations where you often integrate into teams mid-project, and flexibility is essential.
Work-Blocking for Efficiency: With only two weeks to complete the project, I learned the importance of a structured work-blocking system. This approach allowed me to manage my time effectively and meet deadlines under pressure.
Making Data-Driven Design Decisions: Unlike my past projects, I had to rely on research conducted by others. This was a valuable experience in using pre-existing data to guide design decisions, helping me focus on the core insights without starting from scratch.

Developer Learnings:

Skylar Ennenga

This experience allowed me to collaborate with a designer and transform Figma designs, from low-fidelity and high-fidelity mockups, into fully functional code.

Developer Learnings:

Vanady Beard

&

As the back-end developer, I learned how important it is to create efficient and reliable systems that support the entire application. This experience also taught me the importance of optimising the database and ensuring the backend is scalable and easy to maintain.

Developer Learnings:

Stephen Asiedu

&

As a back-end developer, I've come to understand the importance of being familiar with various database systems and modules. This knowledge enables me to build diverse applications and maintain versatility in my work. I've also learned that the responsibility for making the right choices rests on my shoulders, guided by my best judgement.

Developer Learnings:

Swathy Jagannatha

&

Building Regaloo's backend has been a journey that helped me to apply and enhance my skills. It tested my ability to collaborate, multitask, and communicate well. Working alongside a dedicated product manager, designer, and developers gave me invaluable experience in a full team setting.

Developer Learnings:

Maurquise Williams

&

Process of Creating an MVP: Developing a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) taught me how to focus on delivering core functionalities balancing between essential features and avoiding scope creep.
Collaboration in a Real-World Tech Setting: This experience taught me how to collaborate efficiently in a fast-paced tech environment, keeping the team aligned and productive, even while working remotely across time zones.
Sharpening Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving Skills: This experience honed my ability to think critically and solve problems efficiently. By tackling challenges and finding quick solutions, I sharpened my decision-making and troubleshooting skills in a dynamic, real-world setting.

Developer Learnings:

Jeremiah Williams

&

All in all this experience was very awesome I learned that in coding with others being transparent is key

Developers Learnings:

Justin Farley

&

I learned how important communication is when working with a team. Communication provides understanding, advice, ideas, and much more. While working with the product team, I’ve found that communication keeps everything flowing smoothly. Working with a team also showed me that every member brings something different to the table and we all have to work together in order to align and meet our end goal.

Full Team Learning

Overall, we learned how to work cross-functionally within a team. It took a lot of communication, transparency, and coordination to take our project from concept to completion. Together, we developed a strong sense of shared responsibility, allowing us to leverage our skills to create a user-friendly product.

‍