An online gift card developed by Bristol-based eCommerce firm Koan is helping more than 3,000 retailers build sales this Christmas.
Koan, which is based at UWE’s Future Space tech and health innovation hub, developed Gift Up! last year to allow retailers to use on their own websites to quickly and easily set up gift card purchases or sales. 
The firm, which creates bespoke e-commerce platforms for online retail businesses, believes Gift Up! is the simplest way to sell gift cards online. It is fully automated and handles everything from purchase to delivery.
It is also the cheapest way to sell gift cards online. It costs retailers nothing to set up or run – Gift Up! simply collects a 3.49% fee each time a gift card is sold.
The platform is user friendly and can be integrated into any website, allowing customers to buy gift cards directly through retailers’ websites at both fixed and custom values.
Gift Up! uses the latest payment technology such as Apple Pay and Google Pay as well as PayPal, credit and debit cards. The bespoke gift cards are designed to be fully branded and unique to each retailer’s business and can be emailed instantly or scheduled for a special occasion.
Koan founder Lee Tracey said: “In the lead up to Christmas, many small companies are interested in selling gift cards but don’t know how to do it.
“We believe we’ve got the best product out there for the ‘giftable’ sector, which can include any business from spas and restaurants to pottery and flight schools.
“As a small business ourselves, we want to support other SMEs and start-ups. Our aim is to be inclusive and accessible to all sizes of businesses.”
Koan has been supported by the team at Future Space, which is based on UWE’s Frenchay campus, especially the on-the-spot business support.
Future Space innovation director Nuala Foley said: “Start-up and SME owners like Koan are fantastic at what they do but they don’t know all the answers when it comes to running and developing a business.
“Being able to have instant communication with the business experts based on site at Future Space is a massive benefit to them.”
Lee Tracey added: “Simply being able to pop our heads into Nuala’s office and check an idea has been invaluable.
“If you speak to anyone who runs a start-up, they’ll tell you that rigidly planning your days is a waste of time, so the informality and fluidity of the support we get at Future Space is ideal for us.”
Future Space has close links with UWE and can access its facilities and academic personnel, who regularly share expertise with the residents.
Koan also benefitted over the summer from a 10-week, fully-funded intern project run by UWE.
Lee said: “The programme is a huge benefit to being based at Future Space. As we’re such a small company we couldn’t afford to have taken on an intern.
“And as a growing business we need all the help we can get. Our intern Alberto González made big impact for us as an employer, especially when developing Gift Up!
“Alberto looked at the Gift Up! website and gave unbiased, fresh feedback on its usability which was incredibly useful for us.”
