Amazon has introduced a new feature that enables us to send friends a gift, even if we don’t know their address. It’s an idea that could take off this Christmas, says ParcelHero.
If you have ever wanted to send a Christmas gift to someone but been put off because you don’t know their full address, Amazon.com has just introduced a new solution, says the UK home delivery expert ParcelHero. Just by providing the receiver’s email address or mobile number, the gifts can be sent instantly. ParcelHero believes other online retailers could also soon catch on to the new idea.
And the new Amazon feature also lets people swap a gift if it wasn’t quite what they were hoping for, without the sender knowing. Recipients can swap the original present for an Amazon gift card to choose something else, without the gift giver being notified.
ParcelHero’s Head of Consumer Research, David Jinks M.I.L.T. commented: “Amazon Prime members purchasing gifts for loved ones, friends and colleagues on Amazon.com now don’t need to know the recipient’s full address before sending them a present this Christmas. That’s a feature we’ve all wished for at some time.”
“It’s a surprisingly simple idea, and one we can see Amazon.co.uk and other British online retailers adopting quickly as well. With just a little tweaking, it’s a development that should be an option for UK retailers such as Argos and ASOS. Argos could even offer a “pickup your present” in-store option,
“These days our address book is likely to be sat alongside our dusty cheque book far at the back of a little used draw. Yet we have people’s mobile numbers with us constantly in our mobile phones.
“Shoppers simply select the ‘Add a gift receipt for easy returns’ option and, when they reach the checkout, chose the new option ‘Let the recipient provide their address’. All the sender needs to do then is enter the receiver’s mobile number or email address. In today’s world of mobiles and emails, that’s something we are far more likely to have easily to hand than a physical house address.
“The lucky receiver will get an email or text allowing them to choose their preferred delivery address to accept the item, or swap it for a gift card, without the sender knowing. Less embarrassment all round.
“It’s not just an option that retailers can offer. Couriers may also offer similar services themselves in the future. ParcelHero has just launched our new-look web site which is now even easier to use and navigate. As a pioneer in deliveries technology, we’ll certainly be looking at ‘let the receiver provide their address’ options in the future.
“One word of caution, though. We are all familiar with those existing scam texts that claim you have a parcel waiting, but you need to pay a clearance fee. If new ‘address-less’ sales catch on, we will all have to be on our guard for ‘phishing’ messages inviting us to send details such as our address, and in particular, bank account numbers to top-up gift cards, etc.”
