Nift provides local businesses a way to give special "Nift" gift cards to their best customers; recipients enter codes on Nift's website, answer a few questions, and choose from two free gifts from other local merchants. The platform uses data-science tools to match recipients with the "perfect" local gift and to help merchants define and target their best customers. Founder and CEO Elery Pfeffer frames the product as an alternative to discount sites like Groupon, intended to attract valuable customers rather than bargain hunters. Nift reports that 250,000 customers have activated more than 500,000 Nift cards in Boston, with 86% of recipients getting a gift from a business they had never visited or not visited in the past year. Post-redemption engagement metrics include 88% of recipients saying they're interested in visiting the business again and 37% actually visiting within a month. The company is currently available in Boston, Providence and Washington, D.C., and plans to expand to five additional markets using the new funding. Nift operates an invitation-only network that lets neighborhood businesses thank their best customers with full-value gifts redeemable at other local, non-competitive businesses. Its proprietary matching technology pairs the right customers with appropriate gifts and enforces fairness so the value a business gives equals the value it receives. The service charges no fee to businesses unless a customer actually walks through the door. Nift says it already works with hundreds of businesses across the Greater Boston area and cites that around 60% of customers who visit with Nift gifts intend to return. The company showcases local activation efforts such as the Nift Neighborhood Giftfest, expected to reach an estimated 5,000 employees at Boston-area companies. Nift plans to use recent funding to expand its network of local businesses and continue enhancing the technology that powers the platform.

Total raised

$20M

Funding rounds

2

Latest round

Series A

Latest activity

Mar 2018