Meijer ‘GiftCracker’ Tool Deploys Online Elves for Holiday Shoppers

Supercenter pioneer Meijer, Inc. has launched a new GiftCracker online tool that will enable confused shoppers choose appropriate holiday gifts hard-to-buy-for people.

After receiving the e-mail address of a would-be gift recipient, Meijer’s online GiftCracker “elves” take over by sending the recipient a secret invitation to create a wish list on a game-based module comprising various categories and prioritization levels.

The recipient, who is ultimately creating the wish list, doesn’t know who’s requesting the information. The process also allows the recipient to share his or her wish list on a social networking page like Facebook or Twitter, so that others can view the holiday gift preferences.

While gift cards are typically selected for difficult-to-buy-for people, the GiftCracker tool “is a great way to crack the mystery as to what someone really wants for the holiday,” explained Dawn Bronkema, director of E-commerce marketing for the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based chain. “It’s fun, engaging and a lifesaver for a lot of people buying for family, friends or co-workers.”

The online tool enables buyers to set the budget, which means that the recipient will only see items that fall into the established price range. There are more than 20 product categories for the recipient to choose from, and more than 50 items within each to peruse.

In compiling their ultimate holiday gift list, recipients can drag-and-drop their top gifts into their final list, or can continue to “crack more gifts,” said Bronkema, noting that once a list is completed, Meijer’s online elves will report back to the gift-buyer with their findings. Shoppers can then purchase the items directly online from Meijer.com.

“The Meijer GiftCracker is actually a very sophisticated program that uses bracket-based tournament game play for social data collection, and tracks various decision-making processes and buying trends,” added Bronkema. “But for the gift-giver and the gift recipient, it’s a simple online tool that keeps everybody happy this holiday season.”

Meijer operates 190 supercenters throughout Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and Kentucky.
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