Prezzee expands into the UK to disrupt gift economy

Australian-born digital gift card company Prezzee, recently valued at more than 1 billion Australian dollars, is rolling out in the UK ahead of the peak gifting season to disrupt the 7 billion pound gift economy before a planned expansion into Europe.

Founded in 2014, Prezzee is the market-leading digital gift card in Australia, where this year it will issue more than 20 million gift cards. The pandemic has helped supercharge its growth, increasing sales by 222 percent on the previous year.

The Australian company has also reported that growth has been fuelled by expansion into the US market, where lucrative ‘white label’ deals with Macy’s and Uber Eats drove revenues by 400 percent. It is estimated that by 2023, its market share will be 5 percent, helped by a new deal with global payments giant Mastercard.

Prezzee is hoping that the UK rollout follows a similar trajectory after adding retailers including Asos, John Lewis and Deliveroo to its growing list of more than 750 partners globally and 120 in the UK.

According to the digital gift card company, more than 108 million gift cards were bought in the UK in 2019, totalling 5 billion pounds and the market is predicted to increase by 25 percent to 8.8 billion pounds by 2025 and Prezzee is looking to capitalise on this ahead of the festive season.

Prezzee also adds that its gift cards will allow British retailers to tap into a 9.25 billion pound opportunity, as on average consumers spend an additional 35 percent over the value of their gift card, which could help support retailers still struggling from the pandemic.

The gift cards are entirely digital and the sender can personalise with a recording, video or photo. They can also be redeemed instantly at multiple retail outlets, which Prezzee adds makes them an ideal Christmas gift.

Prezzee targets gift card market in the UK ahead of Christmas

James Malia, Prezzee UK managing director, said in a statement: “This is an incredibly important time for the gift card industry, with people buying presents for loved ones as well as corporations looking to reward staff after a tough year. We’ve seen warnings about present shortages and a disrupted supply chain. Prezzee offers a solution for consumers and business gift-givers allowing them to choose something that they truly want but also supporting UK retail at a crunch time.

“By using the power of technology, Prezzee is revolutionising the gifting economy. We are challenging the notion of gifting by creating moments in a post-pandemic world, making gift cards more personal whilst offering greater choice.”

Prezzee’s digital approach also decreases the environmental impact of gifting. Traditional gift cards are made from plastic, and with over a million being manufactured in the UK in 2019, a huge majority of them end up in landfill. The creation of plastic gift cards also releases CO2 into the atmosphere. Prezzee’s gift cards eliminate the need for plastic, as every card is digital. Since the brand’s inception in 2014, over 105,000 kilograms of CO2 has been saved by not making plastic cards.

Tony Karp, chief executive and Managing Director at Prezzee, added: “What began as a small Aussie startup is now in full scale-up mode. By teaming up as a Mastercard Digital Rewards Partner, Prezzee will be able to seamlessly deliver its range into the Mastercard rewards and incentives programme enabling Prezzee to tap into hundreds of millions of consumers via our new partner’s business line.”

Prezzee is 85 percent owned by Precision Group, a private property investment and management company led by Australian billionaire Shaun Bonétt, with the remainder held by Prezzee’s co-founders and directors. It has offices in Australia, New Zealand, the US and the UK.