Giftify, Inc. owns and operates a restaurant deal space in the United States.
The company’s profile fundamentally changed with the acquisition of CardCash Exchange, Inc. (CardCash) in December 2023. CardCash buys merchant gift cards from the general public and distributors at a discount and then resells them at a markup. CardCash’s core service offering includes the buying and selling of gift cards from over 1,100 retailers including Target, Home Depot, Starbucks and TJ Maxx, among others.
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Giftify, Inc. owns and operates a restaurant deal space in the United States.
The company’s profile fundamentally changed with the acquisition of CardCash Exchange, Inc. (CardCash) in December 2023. CardCash buys merchant gift cards from the general public and distributors at a discount and then resells them at a markup. CardCash’s core service offering includes the buying and selling of gift cards from over 1,100 retailers including Target, Home Depot, Starbucks and TJ Maxx, among others.
Business
The company has two principal divisions, B2C and B2B, for both CardCash and for Restaurant.com.
CardCash
CardCash operates as a leading gift card exchange platform, facilitating the purchase and sale of unused gift cards at discounted rates for both consumers and businesses. The company’s mission is to provide a seamless marketplace for individuals looking to maximize the value of their gift cards while also offering businesses innovative solutions to leverage this market.
CardCash’s core service offering includes the buying and selling of gift cards from over 1,100 retailers, such as Target, Home Depot, Starbucks and TJ Maxx, among others. By connecting buyers and sellers, CardCash enables consumers to unlock value from unused gift cards and save significant amounts on their purchases.
CardCash purchases unused gift cards at a value lower than their face worth and subsequently retails them at a discounted rate to discerning shoppers nationwide. This avenue not only allows individuals to obtain cash for their unneeded gift cards but also enables them to make purchases through discounted gift cards.
With advanced fraud prevention technology, known as FraudFix, CardCash ensures the security and integrity of all transactions conducted on its platform. This commitment to trust and reliability has contributed to its success in saving consumers over $100 million since its inception.
In addition to its consumer-focused operations, CardCash provides white-label solutions for brands, allowing them to integrate gift card exchange capabilities into their own platforms. Major retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, CVS and Dell have capitalized on these solutions to enhance their customer offerings and drive additional revenue streams through gift cards without compromising product value.
By fostering a mutually beneficial ecosystem, CardCash.com drives a scenario where consumers and businesses effortlessly trade unwanted gift cards while others access these cards at discounted rates, simultaneously benefiting merchants as unused gift cards are utilized to convert financial liabilities into revenue.
Furthermore, CardCash facilitates Business-to-Business (B2B) exchanges, enabling companies to efficiently manage surplus gift card inventory and procure gift cards in bulk for various business needs.
Moreover, CardCash is committed to social responsibility through partnerships with charitable organizations. Initiatives like the collaboration with Charity On Top for fundraising efforts during natural disasters showcase CardCash’s dedication to giving back to the community. Partnerships with reputable institutions, such as St. Jude’s Research Hospital demonstrate CardCash’s commitment to supporting critical causes and making a positive impact.
Among its offerings, CardCash Incentives provides new gift cards for over 300 brands at discounted rates, catering to businesses seeking employee engagement and customer loyalty through customized gift card solutions. The recent introduction of the CardCash uChoose platform further enhances the company’s portfolio by offering businesses the option to provide gift card choices from a wide selection of brands to recipients.
Overall, CardCash’s multifaceted approach to the gift card market, coupled with its focus on innovation and social impact, positions the company as a key player in the industry with a strategic vision for continued growth and success.
CardCash Growth Plans
CardCash intends to grow its current four business channels, bulk to bulk, bulk to retail, retail to bulk and retail to retail, to take advantage of the projected expansion by 2026 of the global market for gift cards:
Branded Exchange for Retailer Partnerships
CardCash intends to increase the number of gift card exchanges on partner websites to send traffic to CardCash.com. CardCash launched its first branded exchange partnership with CVS Pharmacy in 2012 and experienced an increase in the amount of spending by both new and existing customers.
CardCash Checkout
CardCash is developing the technology to allow retailers to accept any gift card, anywhere, at any time to reduce the combined interchange fee for businesses, result in new-found money for customers and increase the average amount purchased. CardCash profits by selling the card on the secondary market, the transaction is sourced from the point of checkout, and by not being on CardCash’s website, represents a perpetuating network.
CardCash Giving
The purpose of this concept is to allow consumers to pay for their retail purchases with gift cards and to have the charity of their choice receive a donation, thereby increasing the appeal of using CardCash at checkout. CardCash has developed this donation platform to allow customers to use the power of their shopping to support the charity of their choice. CardCash has an existing partnership with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital that allows customers to spend gift cards anywhere they want while donating to cutting-edge medical research. The giving platform works by CardCash negotiating 5% - 20% discounts on the gift cards, splitting that discount 70/30 with the charity and giving the retailer a tax write-off of 70%. Through CardCash’s platform, consumers can, for example, help families pay down student loan debt and contribute to research and awareness for childhood illnesses, improved heart health, etc.
Restaurant.com Business to Customer Division
The company’s B2C division accounted for 45% of gross revenue in its fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. To its database of 6.2 million customers, the company sells:
Discounted certificates for 10,000 restaurants. The certificates range from $5 to $100 and never expire.
Discount Dining Passes, which provide discounts at 170,000 restaurants and other retailers. These passes provide multiple uses for six months.
Specials by Restaurant.com which bundle Restaurant.com certificates with a variety of other entertainment options, including theatre, movies, wine and travel. Customers have favored these bundled offering (Specials), generating significantly greater revenue per customer when compared to purchasing its other products. The average order value for these Specials sales is nearly five times a certificate purchase. Specials generated over 5% of the company’s past year’s B2C revenue from 60% of the B2C orders for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023.
Restaurant.com Business to Business Division
The company’s B2B division accounted for 55% of its gross revenue in its fiscal year ended December 31, 2023. The company sells certificates and Discount Dining Passes to corporations and marketers, which use them to generate new customers; increase sales at the point of sale; reward points/customer loyalty; convert to paperless billing and auto-bill payment; motivate specific customer behavior such as free home repair estimates and test drives for auto dealers; renew subscriptions and memberships; and address customer service issues.
Restaurant.com Other Business
The company also generates revenue through third-party offers and display ad revenue. This comprises a de minimis portion of the company’s gross revenue.
Restaurant.com Attractive Customer Demographics
The company intends to grow and leverage its customer database of 6.2 million.
Marketing
The company primarily uses marketing to acquire and retain high-quality merchants and customers and promote awareness of its marketplaces.
The company uses a variety of marketing channels to make customers aware of the offerings, including search engines, email and affiliate partnerships and social media.
Search engines: Customers can access the company’s offerings indirectly through third-party search engines. The company uses search engine optimization and search engine marketing to increase the visibility of its offerings in web search results.
Email: The company communicates offerings through email to its customers based on their locations and personal preferences. A customer who interacts with an email is directed to its website and mobile applications to learn more about the deal and to make a purchase.
Social: The company publishes offerings through various social networks and adapt its marketing to the particular format of each of these social networking platforms. The company’s website and mobile applications enable consumers to share its offerings with their personal social networks. It also promotes its offerings using display advertising on websites.
Offline: The company uses offline marketing, such as print to help build awareness of brand.
Distribution
The company distributes its deals directly through several platforms: email, its websites, its mobile applications and social networks. The company also utilizes various affiliate partnerships to display and promote its deals on their websites, such as with AMAC, Groupon, MemberHub and others.
The company also uses various customer loyalty and reward programs to build brand loyalty, generate traffic to the website and provide business clients with the opportunity to offer incentives to their customers to receive discounts and Discount Dining Passes. When customers perform qualifying acts, such as providing a referral to a new subscriber or participating in promotional offers, the company grants the customer credits that can be redeemed for awards, such as free or discounted services or goods in the future.
Email: The emails for discount certificates for restaurants contain one headline deal with a full description of the deal and a sampling of dining deals which are available within a customer’s market. The emails for Specials by Restaurant.com include featured travel, entertainment and wine deals in addition to various other product deals.
Websites: Visitors are prompted to register as a customer when they first purchase on the company’s websites and thereafter use the website as a portal for discount certificates for restaurants, complementary entertainment and travel offerings and consumer products.
Mobile Applications. Consumers also access the company’s deals through the company’s mobile applications, which are available at no additional cost on the iPhone and Android, mobile operating systems. The company launched its first mobile application in 2012 and its applications have been downloaded over 6.0 million times since then. These applications enable consumers to browse, purchase, manage and redeem deals on their mobile devices.
Social Networks: The company publishes its daily deals through various social networks adapt and its marketing to the particular format of each of these social networking platforms. The company’s website and mobile application interfaces enable its consumers to share its offerings to their personal social networks.
Operations
The company’s business operations are divided into the following core functions to address the needs of its merchants and customers.
Marketing: The company’s marketing department is responsible for managing the Restaurant.com brand, the B2C discount certificate and Specials offerings, creating the promotional calendar, all creative assets used in its marketing channels such as the website, email and affiliate partnerships, including imagery and editorial content, negotiation with affiliate and merchant partners, revenue management, company analytics and B2B marketing and brand assets.
Customer Service Representatives: The company’s customer service representatives can be reached via email 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The customer service team also works with its information technology team to improve the customer experience on the website and mobile applications based on customer feedback. As of December 2023, the company employed four customer representatives.
Technology: The company employs technology to improve the experience it offers to customers and merchants, increase the rate at which its customers purchase and enhance the efficiency of its business operations. A component of the company’s strategy is to continue developing and refining its technology. The company’s information technology team focuses on the design and development of new features and products, maintenance of its websites and development and maintenance of its internal operations systems.
Intellectual Property
CardCash purchased a patent (US 8,751,294 B2) from e2interactive relating to the processing of valuable-ascertainable items, such as gift cards, by retailers. The patent was issued on June 10, 2014, and is expected to expire December 4, 2029.
CardCash has a registered trademark for CardCash that was first issued on June 12, 2012, and is renewable every ten years. CardCash renewed the trademark in 2022 for an additional ten-year term. The company owns the registered marks RESTAURANT.COM, DINING DOUGH, and has submitted applications for several others. These marks are material to the company’s business as they enable others to easily identify us as the source of the services offered under these marks and are essential to its brand identity.
History
The company was formerly known as RDE, Inc. and changed its name to Giftify, Inc.
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