Australian-headquartered digital gift card company Prezzee has established itself in the UK market, with the aim of disrupting the £7bn UK gift economy ahead of the Christmas gifting season.
Following revenue from the US and a new deal with global payment giant Mastercard, Prezzee recently surpassed the AUD 1bn valuation milestone.
Founded in 2014, Prezzee is a leading digital gift card provider in Australia and expects to issue over 20 million gift cards this year.
The company said the pandemic supercharged its growth, as sales increased 222% on the previous year. Growth was also fuelled by its expansion into the US market, where lucrative ‘white label’ deals with Macy’s and Uber Eats drove revenues by 400%.
Prezzee’s UK rollout has followed a similar trajectory, adding retailers such as ASOS, John Lewis and Deliveroo to a list of over 750 partners globally and 120 in the UK. The company now has offices in Australia, New Zealand, the US and the UK.
Not only do digital gift cards offer a convenient and safe alternative to physical presents during a lockdown, but according to Prezzee, ongoing freight and logistics bottlenecks mean that digital gift cards can also offer important operational and cash flow support.
In addition, Prezzee’s gift cards are an environmentally friendly option for both businesses and individuals. The digital cards eliminate the need for the more traditional plastic gift cards, the creation of which releases CO2 into the atmosphere, and are also likely to end up in landfill.
James Malia, Prezzee UK managing director, reported that over 108 million gift cards were bought in the UK in 2019, totalling £5bn, and the market is predicted to increase by 25% to £8.8bn by 2025.
Malia continued, “Prezzee hopes to capitalise on this booming market and we’re so excited to be in the UK in the run-up to Christmas. 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 support UK retail at a crunch time.”
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