Post-Purchase Marketing: Converting Gift Recipients to Customers
Every gift you ship creates a potential new customer. Here's how to nurture gift recipients into loyal buyers.
When someone receives a gift from your store, they're experiencing your brand for the first time—often with an emotional positive association. This is one of the warmest introductions possible to a potential customer.
Yet most stores do nothing with this opportunity. They focus entirely on the gift-giver and ignore the recipient entirely. That's leaving money on the table.
The Gift Recipient Opportunity
- ❤️Pre-warmed to your brand: Someone they trust chose you as gift-worthy
- ✅Product experience: They've now used/seen your product quality firsthand
- 📍Known interests: The gift they received tells you something about their preferences
- 📧Contact info: You have their email and shipping address from the order
Capturing Recipient Data
Before you can market to recipients, you need their information:
At Purchase
- Require recipient email for gift orders (explain why)
- "We'll send them a delivery notification"
- Shipping address is already collected
Post-Delivery
- Include a card in the package inviting them to join your community
- QR code linking to a recipient-specific landing page
- Exclusive recipient discount in exchange for email signup
The Recipient Email Sequence
Create a dedicated email flow for gift recipients:
Email 1: Gift Notification
Sent: When gift ships or on scheduled date
"[Giver Name] sent you something special!" Include gift message, what to expect, delivery tracking.
Email 2: Delivery Confirmation
Sent: When package is delivered
"Your gift has arrived!" Excitement about opening, care instructions if needed, brand introduction.
Email 3: Welcome + First Offer
Sent: 5-7 days after delivery
Welcome to the brand family. Share your story. Offer a first-time customer discount (15-20%).
Email 4: Product Recommendations
Sent: 14 days after delivery
Based on the gift they received, suggest complementary products. "You might also love..."
Email 5: Social Proof + Urgency
Sent: 21 days after delivery
Share reviews from other customers. Reminder that their welcome discount expires soon.
Physical Touchpoints
Don't rely solely on email. Use the package itself:
In-Box Marketing Materials
- Welcome card introducing your brand to the recipient
- Product catalog or lookbook
- Discount code card for their first purchase
- Social media handles and hashtags to follow
Smart In-Box Card Copy
"Someone special thinks you're pretty great. We agree! Welcome to the [Brand] family. Here's 15% off when you shop for yourself (or your next gift). Use code: GIFTED15"
Recipient Segmentation
Not all gift recipients are the same. Segment by:
- Product category: What were they gifted?
- Price point: Premium gift vs. smaller gift
- Occasion: Birthday vs. holiday vs. thank you
- Engagement: Did they open emails? Click?
Respecting Boundaries
Recipient marketing requires extra care:
⚠️ Important Considerations
- • Recipients didn't opt in the traditional way—be gentle
- • Always make unsubscribe easy and prominent
- • Don't email excessively (5-6 emails max in first 30 days)
- • Never share that they received a gift in remarketing ads
- • Honor unsubscribes immediately
The Reciprocity Loop
Gift recipients often want to reciprocate. Position your store as the obvious choice when they need to give a gift:
- "Return the favor—send a gift they'll love"
- Gift guides in your nurture sequence
- Remind them of upcoming occasions
- Make it easy to send to the person who gifted them
Measuring Recipient Conversion
Track the ROI of your recipient marketing:
| Metric | Target |
|---|---|
| Recipient email capture rate | 80%+ of gift orders |
| Welcome email open rate | 50%+ (warm audience) |
| Recipient conversion rate | 8-15% within 90 days |
| Time to first purchase | Track median days |
| Recipient LTV | Compare to acquired customers |
Building the System
Start with these steps:
- Capture recipient emails on all gift orders
- Create recipient segment in your email platform
- Build the nurture flow (5-6 emails)
- Design in-box materials for gift packages
- Track and optimize based on results
Gift recipients are your most cost-effective customer acquisition channel. Someone else paid for the "ad" (the gift purchase), and the recipient arrives pre-disposed to like your brand. Don't waste this opportunity.
Capture Every Gift Recipient
WithGifted makes recipient email capture seamless, creating warm introductions for your post-purchase marketing.
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