Toronto’s Givex has its eye on the social gifting space. The company, which helps brands manage loyalty programs and gift card programs, announced a new partnership last week with Wrapp, a San Francisco-based service that lets Facebook users give gift cards to friends.
Givex marketing director Bryan Wang said the partnership is a response to client demand. According to Wang, the company’s clients (which include Metro grocery stores, Costa Coffee and Cara restaurants such as Harvey’s and Swiss Chalet) have been asking for Givex to include mobile and social in its loyalty and gift card programs for the past two years.
“Many of our clients feel mobile and social are spaces they need to expand their existing programs into,” he said. “They’ve turn to us to provide that service. Because we’re doing the processing, it makes sense for us to provide that product as well.”
Wrapp’s mobile app users can now give friends on their social graph gift cards from Givex clients. Partnering with Givex is also an entry point for Wrapp into the Canadian market, which is planning a full Canadian launch later in 2013.
“Partnering with Givex instantly gives us access to tools for fast-tracking some of the biggest and best retail brands in the world,” said Wrapp CEO Hjalmar Winbladh.
