The gift of giving (and receiving)
DESIGNING A BETTER EXPERIENCE FOR SENDING AND RECEIVING GIFTS
ROLE
lead designer, creative director, collaborator, gift giver
TEAM
Matthew Prete, product owner
Anna Glover, gifting director
Nadav Caro, lead engineer
In partnership with Amazon’s Berlin-based Gifting team, we set out to redesign the experience of sending gifts without needing the recipient’s address. This effort led to Digital Gifting, allowing senders to gift items using only the recipient’s email or phone number, which the recipient could then use to provide their preferred delivery address. This approach ensured the gift’s arrival without spoiling the surprise.
opportunity: send gifts without worrying about delivery
Customers often lack the recipient’s address, which can lead to incorrect deliveries and a higher failure rate for gifts (1.08%) compared to non-gifts (0.76%). Customers wanted a way to keep gifts a surprise, but traditional processes often revealed the sender’s gift too early.
solution: notify someone when you send them a gift
BONUS: Make it fun with a digital unwrapping experience
We worked closely with the delivery product and UX teams to launch this experience. Sending a notification was the foundational work and MLP for what today “digital gifting” — or being able to let the recipient provide an address, which was our vision for this experience.
Business Opportunity
The ability to send gifts without knowing the recipient’s address presented Amazon with an opportunity to simplify the gifting process, improve customer satisfaction, and reduce delivery errors. By adding an easy-to-use, surprise-friendly option, Amazon strengthened its position as a platform that fosters meaningful connections through seamless gift-giving.
Process
As lead designer, I worked closely with the Berlin team, including product and engineering leads, to explore solutions that balanced a delightful user experience with accurate delivery. Through ideation sessions and iterative testing, we decided to notify recipients through email or text, prompting them to enter their preferred address without revealing the sender’s details.
Solution
Our solution centered on notifying recipients with a link to provide their address, preserving the gift’s surprise. To enhance the experience, we created a digital unwrapping feature that let recipients “unwrap” the gift virtually, adding an element of fun and anticipation.
Impact
Digital Gifting has been widely adopted, improving delivery accuracy and user satisfaction. By making gift-giving simpler and more reliable, Amazon reinforced its reputation as a trusted platform for thoughtful, surprise-friendly gifting experiences.
