From “Just One Gift” to Bigger Baskets: How Gifting Brands Can Grow AOV Without Killing the Magic

Gifting is one of the few ecommerce categories where buying is deeply emotional and time-bound.

Every purchase carries intent: love, gratitude, celebration, recognition. Shoppers aren’t just selecting products; they’re trying to express something meaningful, often under pressure, often for someone else.

Behind every gifting decision is a quiet question: “Will this feel right?”

Customers want to choose well, quickly, and with confidence, without second-guessing themselves or overthinking the moment. When that confidence is missing, they hesitate, settle, or abandon.

This is where real growth comes from, not by pushing shoppers to buy more, but by helping them feel done.

This blog explores how gifting brands can increase Average Order Value (AOV) while preserving what makes gifting special: confidence, care, and emotional clarity.

A Growing Market Ready for Deeper Baskets

The global gifting market is valued at over USD 475 billion and projected to exceed USD 630 billion by the early 2030s, driven by ecommerce penetration, personalization, and a rapidly expanding set of gifting occasions.

Importantly, gifting today goes far beyond a few calendar dates. Demand now spans:

• Micro-occasions: “Just because,” “thank you,” or surprise treats
• Seasonal events & holidays: Valentine’s, Halloween, BFCM, Christmas, Eid
• Cultural moments: Lunar New Year, local festivals
• Corporate gifting: Employee recognition, client appreciation, milestone celebrations

Each moment carries a different urgency, emotional weight, and spending tolerance. Whether a customer adds more to their cart depends entirely on whether the experience supports their intent.

1. Shopping Agents That Reduce Choice to Increase Spend

Choice overload is one of the biggest silent killers of gifting conversion. When shoppers buy for themselves, exploration is enjoyable. When they buy for others, too many options create doubt and delay.

AI-powered shopping agents solve this by narrowing focus and guiding outcomes. Intelligent shopping agents and gift finders:

• Ask for the recipient, occasion, and budget
• Filter options based on past behavior and real-time intent
• Recommend complete gift configurations, not just products

Instead of showing dozens of SKUs, these shopping agents guide shoppers toward complete gifting solutions, where personalization, premium packaging, or bundles feel like natural upgrades. The result is faster decisions, richer baskets, and fewer abandoned carts.

When shoppers feel confident they’ve chosen the right gift, they’re far more open to spending more on it.

2. Product Recommendations That Signal Completion

Gifting customers rarely think in terms of “add-ons.” They think, “Is this enough?”

Effective product recommendation strategies answer that question at the right moment. They’re powered by:

• What shoppers are viewing now
• What’s commonly purchased together
• Past buying patterns and product affinity
• Real-time availability

This enables recommendations that feel natural:

• “Often bought together” pairings
• Complementary items that complete the gift
• Finishing touches like engraving or premium packaging

When delivered consistently across web, email, WhatsApp, push, and in-app touchpoints, this approach leads to higher AOV, especially during high-intent moments like holidays and year-end gifting.

In gifting, the best recommendations don’t upsell. They reassure. Brands using this approach have seen measurable increases in AOV, especially during high-intent gifting moments like holidays and year-end campaigns.

3. Smart Bundling Built for Completeness, Not Discounts

When shoppers bundle, they’re not trying to save money; they’re trying to feel confident that the gift feels complete, thoughtful, and appropriate for the moment. High-performing gifting bundles typically:

• Solve for a specific occasion or recipient (“Birthday Surprise for Her,” “Client Appreciation Kit”)
• Combine a core product with complementary items that enhance meaning or experience
• Include presentation as part of the value (packaging, notes, unboxing)

For example, a gourmet hamper bundled with a limited-edition festive sleeve, or a photo frame packaged with premium printing and gift wrapping. 

The most successful gifting brands go a step further by:

• Offering pre-curated bundles for peak moments (holidays, festivals, corporate seasons)
• Dynamically adjusting bundles based on stock, seasonality, and shopper intent
• Introducing tiered bundles (“Essential,” “Signature,” “Deluxe”) to naturally ladder spend

In gifting, bundles don’t increase AOV by pushing more products. They increase AOV by answering the emotional question: “Will this feel thoughtful enough?”

4. Shoppable Channels: Where Richer Gifting Decisions Get Completed

Gifting inspiration often starts in emails, WhatsApp messages, and push notifications, channels where intent already exists. Shoppable channels don’t replace the site experience; they accelerate and enrich decisions by helping shoppers build more complete gifts before hesitation sets in.

By collapsing discovery, selection, and enhancement into a single flow, shoppable channels make it easier for shoppers to add what they’d otherwise forget or postpone. This is where Average Order Value grows, not through faster checkout, but through thoughtful basket expansion.

With Netcore, gifting brands use shoppable channels to:

• Turn emails into interactive storefronts where shoppers can browse, select, and add to cart without leaving the inbox.
• Deliver personalized WhatsApp catalogs with tap-to-buy actions.
• Surface bundles, premium packaging, and complementary items directly within cart-recovery messages.
• Introduce finishing touches contextually, such as “Most customers add gift wrapping for this occasion” or “Popular add-on for corporate gifting.”

By keeping discovery, decision, and enhancement in one flow, shoppable channels give shoppers just enough space to explore, and just enough guidance to build bigger baskets. Brands like Photobook have driven 400% ROI using shoppable email experiences that encourage richer gifting choices.

5. Merchandising Triggers That Reactivate High-Intent Moments

In gifting, timing matters as much as relevance. When used well, merchandising triggers don’t just bring shoppers back; they help them complete the gift and spend more with confidence.

• Price Drop nudges bring hesitant shoppers back while freeing up budget for add-ons like premium packaging, personalization, or complementary items, lifting overall AOV.
• Back in Stock alerts re-engage shoppers at the moment certainty returns. With the right product now available, customers are more decisive and more open to adding bundles or finishing touches.
• Low Stock cues create urgency without pressure, prompting shoppers to finalize the gift properly rather than risk missing the moment.
• New Arrival notifications encourage trade-ups by positioning better-fit or premium options for the occasion or recipient.

Orchestrated together, these triggers ensure shoppers return ready to buy better, not just buy fast, driving higher AOV without compromising the gifting experience.

Conclusion

Gifting has never been about selling more. It’s about helping someone get it right.

In a category driven by emotion, urgency, and meaning, AOV growth shouldn’t come from pressure; it should come from clarity. The brands that win won’t be the ones that push harder at checkout, but the ones that guide shoppers with confidence, context, and care.

By reducing decision fatigue, curating complete gifting experiences, and meeting customers across shoppable, personalized touchpoints, gifting brands can transform single-item purchases into thoughtful, higher-value moments that feel natural, not forced.

Ready to turn meaningful moments into lasting revenue? Book Your Demo Today.