“We try to always buy people things they need, and that’s really hard as most people already have most things they need,” says Jesper. “So if I can’t think of something the person really needs, I try to focus on buying things they would not normally buy for themselves, but would be really happy to receive.” Such as a day out on a yacht, maybe? 

Jesper tells us, “In developed markets like Singapore, many people have most of the physical things they need. Experiences are things you can never have enough of, so it’s a foolproof gift.” And for stressed out individuals with, ahem, an axe to grind, maybe an axe-throwing sesh at Axe Factor, an axe-throwing experience studio in Turf Club Road, is the perfect — and totally unusual — present? 

“I think giving gift cards could be considered a bit of a cop-out if it’s purchased without any thoughtfulness, just to give someone something, says Jesper. “However, if it’s purchased with a specific thing in mind and gifted with a personalised message, it can be as thoughtful as giving a physical gift. How could you, for example, ever buy a pair of running shoes for someone? They need to be tried on and tested to find the perfect size. So a gift card from Running Lab, for example, would be a perfect gift and still make the recipient feel that you have listened to them and cared for their needs.” 

“Nothing beats unwrapping a gift in my view, and that’s why there’s free gift wrapping on Giftano,” explains Jesper. During the festive season, our gift cards will come luxuriously wrapped in gold paper with a red ribbon (great for slipping under the Christmas tree for unwrapping on Christmas morning!). For recipients of our e-gifts, they will see an animation of a gift envelope opening up on the screen with a personalised message from the buyer.” 

Says Jesper, “Gift the really fussy one with a wonderful meal in a really nice restaurant. I mean, who doesn’t love food? If you have a really fussy vegan, lactose-intolerant and gluten-allergic friend, you could always buy them a Giftano Card which they can use to buy any of the 1000+ gifts we have on the platform.”

“Experience gifts have continued to grow in popularity this year,” says Jesper. “Within the experience gift segment, we have seen a lot of gifting of workshops and sport-related gifts. I think the healthy lifestyle trend and the trend of spending time on non-digital things are behind this.”

Check out Giftano at https://giftano.com/.