Gift Pad
Reinventing the Japanese Gifting Culture Online

The gifting culture in Japan has historical value because it originated as an expression of gratitude to nature Gods. Japanese citizens now have the option to purchase gifts from printed gift-giving catalogs. However, these printed catalogs lack the adaptability and flexibility in today’s digital world. Yukihiro Sonoda recognized this opportunity to leverage the rigidity of printed catalogs and founded Gift Pad. Today, many people can easily access Gift Pad as an online platform to send gifts.

“Our platforms and services are flexible in design, enabling corporate and individual customers to personalize giftgiving processes per their preferences and needs,” says Yuki Sonoda, CEO and founder of Gift Pad.

Gift Pad started out as an online platform for wedding gifts, party favors, and other formal giftgiving events. However, it became evident over time that it has far more applications in multiple market segments. For instance, corporate clients now use the platform to offer sales incentives and promotions. Municipalities use it to improve customer surveys, issue and manage regional currency, provide new venues for souvenir sales, and perform a variety of other functions.

The unique system used by Gift Pad prevents the sender from knowing their recipient’s address. This system addresses one of the major issues for Japanese industries— privacy laws that restrict sharing street addresses to protect the customer’s privacy. It provides a highly customizable platform, safeguards customer data, and permits business partners to gather useful market information with customers’ consent. Gift Pad’s platform also enables gift senders to incorporate surveys and video messages with their offerings. By combining the survey feature with gifting, they can significantly boost customer engagement levels. This feature also allows Gift Pad to tailor its platform to meet the specific needs of its users.

At the core of its operations, Gift Pad uses a ‘three-way satisfaction’ business module to meet user needs. The model segregates its users into three categories— general users or corporate clients, receivers, and suppliers of goods and services.

‘Three-way satisfaction’ is derived from the 16th-century Japanese phrase ‘sanpoyoshi’, meaning a business should benefit the seller, buyer, and society. Toadhere to this philosophy, developing a flexible system that focuses on a common goal is crucial, as it ensures realistic profits and benefits for all stakeholders.

However, according to Sonoda, the focus should not only be on generating high profits but consistent profits. Gift Pad’s dynamic platform helps to make prices flexible and effectively manages costs, ensuring consistent profits and a holistic user experience.

Currently Gift Pad primarily provides three types of services— merchandizing, gift solutions, and digital transformation (DX) solutions. It has collaborated with over one thousand quality suppliers of goods and services throughout Japan and seeks to expand its business globally through its merchandizing services. To achieve this, Gift Pad uses an adaptive system that can be customized for different countries according to their gifting cultures. Using DX solutions, it assists clients in realizing digital transformation programs like government-led programs for economic stimulus packages, shopping platforms for tourism industries, and many more.

A top-tier French automobile manufacturer is one of Gift Pad’s renowned corporate clients that use its platform to provide customer incentives. They considered macarons from a famous pastry maker as customer incentive gifts. However, the macarons needed refrigeration and were not suitable for gifting. Gift Pad helped the client with its platform, allowing customers to specify the date and time to receive their gift. It enabled them to collaborate with another exclusive French bakery and enhance customer satisfaction. Concurrently, it collaborated with pastry makers that, the client chose first to reach customers outside its exclusive stores. This client success story exemplifies the effectiveness of the services provided by Gift Pad

Today, many Japanese regional municipalities have already adapted various DX platforms provided by Gift Pad. The company is currently concentrating on expanding into a platform that not only facilitates gift-giving but also promotes the growth of the local economy. In an effort to broaden its reach to different markets, Gift Pad has introduced various features, such as ‘Miyaget,’ which enables users to purchase and send gifts by simply clicking QR codes at the store using their smartphone, and ‘Region PAY,’ which is a currency platform specific to each region/prefecture to help enhance the regional economy.

Gift Pad aims to become a platform that preserves the Japanese gifting culture in the country as a leading online giftgiving platform with a diverse service portfolio. Simultaneously, it seeks to adapt to other cultures for global expansion in the corporate incentives and gifting services industry.