Nordstrom unveils new e-gifting program

NEW YORK (FOX 5 NY) - One department store is trying to save people this year from the awkwardness of giving or receiving a bad gift.

Nordstorm is helping its customers find the perfect holiday present.

With Nordstrom's new e-Gifting program, customers can send a gift instantly through email, allowing the recipient to choose the appropriate size and color and, if they don't like the gift altogether, they can redeem it for a gift card on the spot, instead of taking the time to return the gift.

“I think it’s a win-win for giver and receiver,” said Trae Bogg.

This new initiative will streamline the Holiday shopping experience according to Trae Bodge, Smart Shopping Expert at Splender.com.

“I think this helps take the guess work out of shopping. They can accept that guess or not, and I think it gives more flexibility on both sides,” she said.

When it comes to retailers, Bodge thinks this can help prevent returns, “Overall, according to NRF returns last year were at 15%, which causes a lot of shrinkage for retailers.  Allows retailer to keep investor and the customer doesn’t have to go through trouble of returning something afterwards,” she said.

Bodge also said that it will likely become a trend throughout the industry. “With the popularity of gift cards, it shows that people want control. Others will do that once they see if Nordstrom has success. Nordstrom has an open return policy, so it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out at the end of the season.”

However on the downside, it takes away from the mystery of gift giving, but the mystery goes away with gift cards, so we are at a new place with gift giving and receiving.

A recent survey found that while over 50% of people polled planned to give gift cards  this year, only 27% actually wanted to get a gift card versus a tangible gift.

The new initiative could be a way to personalize the gift card giving process since one has to take the time to select a specific gift for the recipient, and in case you're wondering, the gift giver is never notified if the recipient decides to exchange their gift.