1 May 2026 10:50Viktoriia Ovcharenko, Chief Partnership Officer, and Angelina Ivanova, Chief Revenue Officer at giftmall in Ukraine, explained what makes the best corporate gift and how offering a choice of rewards attracts new customers and boosts the loyalty of existing ones in an interview with RAU.
giftmall is an international provider of gift card solutions for businesses and users. Founded in 2013, the company evolved from a single gift card catalogue to an ecosystem of products and services for simple, accessible and effective corporate rewards.
On the picture (left to right): Viktoriia Ovcharenko, Chief Partnership Officer, and Angelina Ivanova, Chief Revenue Officer at giftmall.
- What inspired the idea behind the business offering gift cards and rewards for corporate clients?
- Our Co-founder & CEO, Kate Prokhatska, whilst working at a start-up specialising in gift cards, identified a need for such cards in the business sector. Companies require large volumes of gift cards to reward their employees. This was an untapped market niche that giftmall successfully filled.
- How did this international service, which now operates in 45 markets worldwide, get started?
- In 2013, the company launched as a gift card catalogue with a simple aim: to make corporate rewards as easy as possible for businesses. Today, the catalogue in Ukraine features over 300 brands across more than 30 categories. Over 13 years in the market, guided by the principle of win-win partnership, the company has earned the trust of over 2,000 corporate clients and 1,000 brands in its partner network across all markets.
- How exactly does the principle of a win-win partnership work?
- We are striving for a future where company rewards are delivered through simple tools, and recipients have full freedom of choice – without one-size-fits-all solutions.
Our business is built on a win-win partnership, where every participant receives real value: clients get effective solutions without unnecessary complexity, and users have the freedom to choose gifts that are truly important to them. Consequently, partners gain access to a new audience through transparent collaboration.
- How did this business start, and who were its first clients?
- The company began operations immediately in Ukraine. giftmall’s first partners were Brocard, Zarina, Novus, Comfy, Foxtrot and Epicentre. We are still working with them today. Partners find working with giftmall appealing for its convenience and open communication, as well as our willingness to meet them halfway. This is something they have repeatedly emphasised throughout our partnership.
Our first clients were global leaders representing the FMCG, HVAC and agricultural sectors. They approached us with a single strategic request: to provide a universal rewards tool with flexible denominations and access to a wide range of goods and services in Ukraine.
- What did you offer them?
- Our multibrand gift card has proved to be the perfect solution for meeting the business’s needs for convenient reward distribution. The giftmall multibrand card is a universal gift card that can be exchanged for more than 300 brands from our catalogue. This means you no longer need to guess what to give – the recipient has complete freedom of choice, with access to their favourite brands all in one place.
The product was immediately integrated into our clients’ corporate ecosystems and became a key component of employee benefits packages, partner loyalty programmes and ambitious strategies designed to boost sales.
- So, is the giftmall service specifically designed for corporate clients: companies and organisations that want to launch or expand their own rewards programmes using gift cards?
- Corporate clients are our main focus, yes. These are businesses of all sizes that want to set up from scratch or expand their employee, partner or customer incentive programmes through gift cards.
But we also sell gift cards to individual customers.
- So, can an ordinary person also buy, for example, your giftmall multibrand gift card?
- Of course! Anyone can visit our website and place an order for a multibrand card or brand gift cards in just a few clicks.
- Can everything be ordered online?
- Yes. You can easily and quickly purchase, personalise and activate the multibrand gift card on the giftmall website or mobile app in just a few minutes. The recipient can choose any brand or several brands within the card’s balance.
Through their personal account, users can conveniently manage their gift cards, including viewing and activating existing ones, purchasing new ones, topping up their balance and more.
- How does this work in practice for organisations and for individual consumers?
- Customers can order gift cards through the catalogue on the website or via the app. Gift cards can be ordered either for yourself or as a gift. You can also add a personalised message and purchase a lovely gift box or a greeting card.
The multibrand gift card is available in both digital and physical formats for any denomination. The digital version is sent instantly by email, whilst the physical one is delivered via Nova Post. The gift card in Ukraine is valid for 5 years.
We advise companies to contact our support team by emailing info@giftmall.ua or by filling in the form on our website. We always handle corporate enquiries on a case-by-case basis, so it is best to discuss them individually. Once all the details have been agreed upon, the gift cards will be sent either to the client or directly to the recipients.
- In which retail sectors do gift cards work best?
- In our experience, when a user is considering a gift card as a present for someone else, it’s usually for clothes, shoes or accessories. In this case, the gift card effectively removes the worry of getting the style or size wrong or of making a mistake with the gift choice.
The beauty segment also performs very well – cosmetics, perfumes and skincare. These are categories where personal preferences play a major role, so people are more willing to give the gift of choice – the opportunity to select what they need themselves. Appliances and electronics are showing strong results due to the high average spend and the option to use a gift card to cover part of the payment.
- What is the maximum denomination of a gift card, and what does this depend on?
- The giftmall multibrand gift card has no denomination restrictions for businesses, so the maximum amount depends solely on the customer’s needs. Furthermore, users can split the available denomination into several purchases or combine it with other gift cards, making the process of buying brand gift cards as convenient as possible.
- And what if it’s a gift card for a specific brand?
- However, there is usually no universal limit on the maximum denomination of a single brand’s gift card – it depends on the brand’s policy and the specifics of the category. This is influenced by several key factors:
1) Average spend in the category. The more expensive the goods or services, the higher the value of the gift card. For example, in the fashion category, the amounts may be lower than in the electronics or travel categories.
2) Fraud risks and security. The higher the denomination, the greater the potential losses in the event of misuse, which is why brands often cap the maximum amount.
3) Sales channel. For corporate clients, denominations are usually higher or customised, for example, for specific employee greetings or incentive programmes. For individual users, denominations are more standardised.
- The website lists the cities where you can collect your gift. How can customers in other areas claim their gift?
- The catalogue lists Ukraine’s largest cities, but many brands in the giftmall’s affiliate network (such as Silpo or Varus) are also available in smaller towns. At the same time, you can always order a digital card and use it in our partners’ online shops, with goods delivered via Nova Post.
- How is liability towards consumers shared between you, as the gift card service, and the brand itself, which is a participant in the programme?
- At giftmall, we are responsible for the entire customer experience right up until the gift card is redeemed at our partner stores. This includes ensuring a smooth ordering process, whether via email or physical delivery, as well as providing customer support should any questions or technical issues arise.
Our support team responds to user enquiries within an hour on working days and usually resolves them within the first 15 minutes. As a result, our user satisfaction rate reaches 95% across various platforms. This is also valuable for corporate clients, as they want to ensure their users receive a first-class experience.
The brand, in turn, is responsible for the product itself and ensuring that the gift card can be used quickly in its own stores. This includes accepting the gift card in-store, complying with the terms of use (denomination, validity period, restrictions), and ensuring the quality of the goods or services received by the consumer.
At the same time, if a problem arises at any stage, we coordinate between the customer and the partner and support them until the issue is fully resolved.
- Who has to register their account on the website?
- Individual users can register on the website or in the giftmall app themselves using their phone number. The process is quite simple and secure. Corporate customers can use the giftmall business account as an additional tool that we provide access to. The business account is an online platform for companies of any size, enabling them to manage gift card orders independently without additional integration. It provides full access to the giftmall catalogue – from individual brand cards to multibrand cards – and allows companies to send cards or award points to reward employees, customers or partners: all in one place.
- How much does it cost to design and produce branded or generic gift cards for a client?
- It depends on the specifics of the project, the client’s requirements and the print run. Prices are always calculated on a case-by-case basis for each individual enquiry.
- What other tools are available for rewarding the client’s business partners, customers and employees?
- The business account mentioned above, plus giftmall white label and giftmall API. White label is a personalised client catalogue where their users can exchange a multibrand card for brand gift cards whilst remaining within the client’s customised environment. API integration allows them to connect our catalogue to the client’s existing system or loyalty programme.
We also offer additional services to make our clients’ work easier.
One such option is the giftmall international catalogue, which offers access to over 3,000 brands across 45 countries. This option is ideal for companies with distributed teams that wish to give locally relevant gifts to employees in different countries.
Another service we offer is multibrand gift card branding. We brand both digital and physical gift cards.
- How is this market developing at the moment, and what are your forecasts for this year?
- Today, the market is adapting to the new realities, focusing not so much on volume as on the effectiveness of employee support. We are seeing a gradual resurgence of activity in the corporate sector, where demand for flexible incentive tools is growing steadily by 20–35% each year.
This stems from businesses’ desire to support their employees and partners in challenging circumstances. For the current year, we anticipate this trend will continue, with digitalisation and the personalisation of support remaining key priorities. This approach enables companies to act swiftly, maintain internal resilience, and, at the same time, contribute to the stability of Ukraine’s consumer market.
From the perspective of our partner network, we are currently seeing a clear trend towards the digitalisation of the gift card market – and we believe this is the main driver of its growth. This is particularly relevant for Ukraine, where there is significant potential for expansion. We can see that businesses are actively moving online, the culture of cashless payments is growing, and consequently, demand for digital gift cards is also increasing. The market is not yet saturated and has room to scale.
When it comes to Europe, the market for gift cards and rewards is more mature, but it also offers interesting opportunities. On the one hand, major international brands are already well established there and actively sell their gift cards, but on the other hand, local brands often either work exclusively with physical gift cards or do not yet have such programmes at all. And this is precisely where we see great potential for giftmall.
