admin, Author at Woohoo Gifting Blog

Diwali Gift Vouchers and cards

Nakshatra – it’s a beautiful word, isn’t it? It means ‘star’ in Sanskrit. That’s the best way to describe a diamond – by comparing it with a bright, twinkling star in the skies. Stars are more visible on a dark night, when the power’s out. Their brilliance creates an impact on you from a great distance, leaving you awed. This Diwali, grace your wife’s ears with diamonds from Gitanjali Nakshatra, Asmi or D’dmas and take advantage of Gitanjali’s Diwali offers. Whether you buy from D’dmas, Asmi or Nakshatra, you get diamond and pearl jewelry worth 30% of your purchase value. Isn’t that fantastic? Think of the advantages. The free jewelry makes a great addition to your wife’s jewelry wardrobe, and can also be given to someone as a gift! Plus, who could say no to a lovely piece of diamond and pearl jewelry that comes free of cost?

Take advantage of these three unbeatable offers from Gitanjali Nakshatra, D’dmas and Asmi. Buy gift cards from any of these three brands for your wife, sister, mother or daughter. The offer is valid on purchase of jewelry for Rs. 15,000 or above. Make this Diwali unforgettable for the women in your family, by bringing the splendor of Gitanjali diamonds home. Gold and diamonds have always been considered extremely auspicious in Indian culture. A woman wearing gleaming gold studded with diamonds is seen as the very image of the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi. Gitanjali, through its brands Asmi, Nakshatra and D’dmas truly understands this image of splendor. That’s why Gitanjali offers diamond and pearl jewelry as a gift for Diwali when you make your purchase!

Favourite Trend for Diwali- Gift Voucher

What are you gifting your wife this Diwali? How about a new set of furniture or home ware from Home Center LifeStyle? Why, you ask? If you’re asking, then you haven’t seen the spectacular offers from Home Center LifeStyle yet! Upon purchase of home wares for Rs. 5,999, you get Prestige Cookware set of 2 worth Rs. 1,125! Double that amount and you can get

Prestige Cookware set of 2 worth Rs. 2420. Is that reason enough? There’s more – after all it’s Diwali and LifeStyle believes in doing everything in grandiose style. Purchase furniture for Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 1,51,000 and above, and you’ll get a gift voucher for 10% of the amount you spend. So if you were planning on replacing your worn furniture either way, why not take advantage of this fabulous offer and earn 30% of the value back in the form of a gift voucher?

Here’s a strategy – don’t tell your wife about the offers. Just purchase a LifeStyle gift voucher for your gift amount. Accompany her to LifeStyle when she’s ready to go, and slowly guide her to the Home Ware and Furniture departments. Let her discover these fabulous offers on her own. LifeStyle’s fabulous array of classy furniture, beautiful carpets, wall hangings and elegant home ware are bound to delight your wife. These offers are so great, that others in your family and friend circle might also benefit. Consider gifting LifeStyle gift vouchers to your sister, mother, sister-in-law and other women in your family. By putting up these hard-to-resist offers, LifeStyle has made sure that Diwali this year will be very hard-to-forget indeed! Diwali gift vouchers are available online for your convenience!

Select the perfect gift for Diwali: Stop at Shoppers Stop!

Guys and girls, tighten those boots and grab that sweater! The Shoppers Stop Glitter N Glam Jewelry Festival is on! Here’s the chance of a lifetime to buy that special piece of jewelry, at fabulous discounts of up to 40%! Shoppers Stop has everything any man or woman could desire – great apparel brands, fabulous watch brands, major lifestyle brands and jewelry brands galore! Whether you’re a fashion-savvy guy or a trendy fashionista, you simply cannot miss out on these unbelievable offers. Sample this – a 25% discount from jewelry brands such as Nirvana, Viola, Diti and Carbon. If that weren’t enough, there’s 40% off from Haute Curry and 45% off from Sparkles! Who could beat that? For the clotheshorse in you, several fashion apparel brands are vying with each other to offer you the best discounts.

If Levi’s has 20% off, then Wrangler, Lee and Pepe Jeans are offering 30% off. Spectacular! However, listen to this – a straight 40% off from United Colors of Benetton. What? Yes, you heard right! 40% off from UCB—it is the landmark icon in global fashion. Let’s not forget about classy watches now… Fastrack, Aspen, FCUK, Tommy Hilfiger, Nautica, Timex, Police and Casio are offering a 20% discount. Pierre Cardin is offering 30% off, and Titan Watches will be handing out free gifts upon a watch purchase. Here’s your chance to give your family and friends great gifts this Diwali without breaking the bank. These fabulous discounts make it possible for you! Buy Shoppers Stop gift cards for your gift recipients and be sure to tell them about the offers. Watch as your family runs to the nearest outlet the moment they receive your card. Can you blame them?

CORPORATE GIFTING IDEAS FOR DIWALI

In the Indian calendar, the Diwali festival is of paramount importance, similar to Christmas in the west. Businesses, both large and small, like to show their appreciation for their employees by handing out Diwali gifts. This is a long-standing tradition in many companies. Apart from showing appreciation, Diwali and New Years’ gifts help boost employee morale and generate greater loyalty. That’s the reason why large corporates dedicate people to come up with unique and perfect corporate gifts strategies. This year, make sure that your Diwali gift ideas resonate with the spirit and joy of Diwali. Allow your employees to choose what they want, instead of picking up random gifts which they may or may not like or even consider tasteful.

This year, instead of spending Rs. 500 or Rs. 1000 on a tray of sweets, diya and dry fruits, buy your employees gift cards and vouchers. Keep in mind that gifts for employees must be generic. Therefore, look for brands that offer a wide range of general lifestyle and entertainment options. Here are some lifestyle options – Maya Lifestyle, Central, Shoppers’ Stop, Landmark, Flipkart, Westside and Big Bazaar. Here are some food and entertainment options – PVR Cinemas, Dominos, Pizza Corner, Sigree Restaurant, 13th Floor, Kyra Restaurant and Oh! Calcutta Restaurant. Books and music make great, impersonal gifts as well – think of Sapna Book House, Oxford Book Store and Flipkart.com As you can see, the options are endless. It only depends on the kind of gift you want to give your employees this year. What’s more, through gift vouchers and cards, you can even set the trend for years to come!

Cricketing Gift Ideas for Any One, Any Time

If you are looking for sporty gift ideas for November , then stop now. We have the answer for you–cricket. The England teams tour of India will start in November 2012. The tour involves 4 Tests, 5 ODI’s and 2 T20 games to be played across many cities across India. Men In Blue will be looking at trouncing the visitors in every game and you can cheer your cricketing icons through every game.

Now what thought goes through your mind when you see a white Nike swoosh on a blue surface? You immediately think of our national cricket team’s blue shirts, don’t you? That’s the power of Nike and its “Bleed Blue” cricket initiative. The Nike Swoosh along with the Indian Cricket Blue now represents the dreams and aspirations of a billion fans. Many months back, Nike sent tons of blue fabric to schools, Nike retail stores, colleges and cricket fields all over the country, encouraging people to dip their palms in white paint and place their handprint. Through this Bleed Blue campaign that also came alive in TV ads, Nike got millions of cricket fans to engage and interact with our cricket stars.

How about infecting a loved one with the Nike Bleed Blue initiative through a Nike prepaid gift card? There is no better way to join in the passion for cricket and for cheering the Indian cricket team. The choice of sporting apparel and accessories at the Nike Stores are endless from t-shirts, jackets, backpacks to bags and shoes; putting people immediately in the mood for a game of their favourite sport.

What to Gift Your Wife on Karva Chauth: Some Gift Ideas

Karva Chauth is celebrated with great joy and passion by women in North India in the wheat belt, to ensure the longevity and safety of their husbands. They fast, from sunrise till moonrise, and eat only when they’ve sighted the moon and seen their husband’s face through a veil. This festival falls on the fourth day of the krishna paksh (dark fortnight), during the month of Kartik. Women buy jewelry, cosmetics, pooja items, henna and so on. They fast as a mark of devotion to their husbands. It is a truly commendable attitude—can you imagine going without food for someone?

If your wife is going to do the Karva Chauth fast in your name, custom expects you to gift her something nice. Here’s your chance to let your wife know just how much you value her and her dedication towards you. Here’s a fabulous idea– get her a gift voucher or card for classy jewelry from brands such as Tanishq, Asmi or D’dmas. Also buy a gift card for exquisite Indian ethnic sarees and suits from Satya Paul. Buy decorative, earthenware Karva Chauth pots— load it up with silk ribbons, glass bangles, packets of bindis, and handkerchiefs for her. Won’t that be fantastic? Your wife is not likely to forget this year’s Karva Chauth, is she? Make this holy day perfect for the woman who tries to make every day of your life perfect.

Unique gifting option for the festive season

Republished here on: 29 October 2012

As appeared in the The Economic Times on 29 Oct 2012:

By: Milan Sharma

Similar to debit cards, the pre-loaded gift cards can be used multiple times across different retailers–

Confused about what to gift someone this festive season You certainly dont want to spend time looking for something that ends up in the pile of recycled gifts.However,going the easy way by picking store vouchers can limit the choice for the other person.After all,vouchers are for onetime use and have to be redeemed for the entire amount.This is why gift cards make for a more savvy choice.These are prepaid cards,which can be loaded for a certain amount,ranging from 500-50,000.They are similar to debit cards and can be swiped at any brick-and-mortar or online store that accepts plastic.Another benefit is that you can swipe a gift card only for a partial value and use it multiple times till it is valid.

Typically,there are two kinds of gift cards in the market.A closedloop card is merchant-branded one and can only be used at a single retail store or chain,such as the ones issued by Caf Coffee Day or Fastrack.Then there is the open-loop card,which can only be issued by a bank along with a credit card company like Visa or MasterCard.These can be used across all stores.
Most gift cards are valid for a year.You can approach a store or bank directly to buy a gift card,or search for one on portals like Woohoo.in,Giftcardsindia.in,Indiaplaza.com and Infibeam.com,which will deliver it for free.Some banks also sell gift cards on their websites.

! Expiration issues

Though gifts cards can be reused,they come with a validity period.Most are valid for a year,in line with the guidelines of the Reserve Bank of India for prepaid instruments.However,some gift cards may have a shorter period,such as the merchant-branded ones from Woohoo.in, which are valid for 360 days.While validity dates are stamped on most gift cards,if yours does not have one,write the expiry date behind it with a permanent marker yourself.Some gift cards also come with the condition that they have to be swiped once in a quarter.
The biggest problem is that if the card expires and still carries some money,you will not get a refund.Take the gift card offered by the State Bank of India (SBI).If the balance in the card is below 100 and it has not been used for six months or has expired,the entire balance will be forfeited and it will be closed.However,if the balance is above 100 but the card is no longer valid,the bank transfers the remaining balance (minus 100) to the cardholders bank account if you file an application within three months of expiry.

! Renewal and top-ups

To fight fraud related to prepaid cards,the RBI has issued stringent guidelines on prepaid gift instruments.So,the maximum purchase value for both merchant-branded and bank gift cards cannot exceed 50,000,with the minimum value being 500.These cards are non-reloadable and cannot be topped up.However,you can get them reissued,though there may be a fee for this.The SBI charges 50 for reissuing a gift card,while the HDFC Bank charges 100,plus taxes,for its HDFC GiftPLus card.If you are taking a gift card from a bank,you will have to complete the know your customer (KYC) procedure.This isnt required for merchant-branded ones.
The only exception to the non-reloadable clause is HDFC Banks Mudra GiftPlus Card,which can be topped up any time but can only be used to purchase gold or silver coins at HDFC Bank branches.

! Invisible charges

Bank gift cards can be used at multiple establishments,which makes them score high on convenience,but this benefit comes at a cost as several extra charges are levied.For instance,ICICI Bank levies 200,plus taxes,if you want to check the charge slip for any fraudulent transaction.If you swipe the Union Bank of Indias gift card at a restaurant,20% of your food bill will be blocked on the card to cover any possible tip.The same is true at gas stations to cover fuel surcharge.However,if there is no tip or surcharge on the final bill,the amount will be unblocked after a few weeks.So,you need to be careful while using the card towards the fag end,because if the total amount is more than the money loaded in your card,the transaction will be declined.
On the other hand,merchant-branded gift cards do not have any extra charges.The policies of such cards are governed by the retailer.If you are a frequent customer and also have the stores loyalty card,any problems that may arise will be handled smoothly by the store.This is why 70-80 % of the gift card market is merchant-branded, says Kumar Sudarshan,director of QwikCilver,a gift card solution provider to various brands.

! Specific or general

Merchant-branded gift cards can be limiting and binding since you will only be able to use them at a particular store.If you present a gift card of a certain value of a high-end store and the giftee has to pay extra to make a purchase,the thought behind your gift diminishes.Consumers tend to spend 100-400 % more than their gift cards face value while redeeming them, says Sudarshan. This is why bank cards are preferable as gifting options since these can be used across retailers as well as for online shopping.The latter also makes more sense if you aren’t sure of the store that the other person prefers.Another advantage with a bank gift card is that you will get a tele-banking PIN and an Internet banking PIN,which will allow you to check the balance on the card as well as the transaction details.

Best Birthday Gift idea For Your Boy Friend- Skyfall

The sky is falling! Are you ready? The newest James Bond movie, Skyfall, hits theatres in India this week. Going by the rumors, this movie is supposed to put all the other Bond movies to rest! Perfect release timing as well – the world celebrated the 50^th anniversary the first Bond movie, Dr. No, on October 5^th, the Global James Bond Day. There’s a bit of everything in Skyfall; the theft of high-end technology by terrorist agents, plenty of gunfire, thrilling escapes and international locations. And of course, Bond’s in the middle of everything as usual. Daniel Craig sizzles in this movie, moving with the speed of light as he dodges a sniper….no, we’re not giving you more than that, you’ve got to go see the movie!

So how are you going to watch Skyfall? All by yourself or with some exciting company? The latter, we hope. Make it really special – send a PVR Cinemas gift card in advance with a note that says, “Meet me at Skyfall”. Don’t say anything about when you plan to take your friend to the movie. The PVRCinemas gift card is valid for a number of months and you can use it to buy tickets and snacks as well. If your special movie companion is a major Bond fan, how about picking up a Landmark gift card as well? Your gift recipient can pick up any number of Bond memorabilia, including books, comics, Bond movie music CDs and the entire set of Bond movies till date! How about sending your friend a Pizza Corner gift voucher as well to let them know there’s going to be dinner after the movie!

Gift Cards For The Indian Grand Prix

Have you always been a Formula One fan? Then you must be really excited about the 2012 Indian Grand Prix that’s scheduled to take place on 28^th October. This time the crowds are going to go crazy at the Buddh International Circuit, just as they did last year when the first Indian Grand Prix took place. Formula One cars reach top speeds of around 320 km/h (199 mph) on these tracks. Fans are waiting to see if the 2011 Formula One lap record of 1 minute 27.249 seconds will be broken this year. Will you be rooting for the 2011 Grand Prix winner Sebastian Vettel again this year?

The official sponsor of the Indian Grand Prix event is none other than the famous global sports brand, PUMA. PUMA will also be the official supplier of race wear for the team that drives the Scuderia Ferrari cars. At the 2012 Grand Prix event, fans will be sporting PUMA shoes, PUMA Formula One racing shirts, PUMA Formula One caps and much more. What can you do to make this year’s Grand Prix the best event of your life? You can buy PUMA gift cards for your friends so that all of you are kitted up in PUMA gear in time for the event. PUMA gift cards make for great gift ideas. Wear a PUMA t-shirt with Sebastian Vettel’s Red Bull-Renault car number to show your support. Go ahead, wear your passion, wear PUMA, and show your support for the brave Formula One drivers who make racing history every year.

New Gift Idea- Titan e-Card

Here’s some fabulous news for all Titan watch lovers! The new Titan eCard is an instant gratifier – you just purchase the eCard and the electronic redemption code is sent to your recipient instantly. How much simpler can it get? Now your gift recipient can shop for a fine Titan watch on the very same day that you purchase your Titan eCard. If you are looking for a birthday gift idea for your friend, you have an answer now. Make your eCard purchase, and then call up to wish immediately. Your gift eCard is probably waiting in his or her email inbox already!

Everyone loves a classy Titan watch. There are so many beautiful design options, each designed for suit specific tastes. The Titan Edge with its slim edge is the best style statement a fashion-savvy person can make. Titan Raga watches, on the other hand, are coveted pieces of jewelry, desired by every woman. The bold and Swarovski studded Titan Purple is just the right ticket for that pub event, along with funky jeans and a flashy top. Who could say no to that? So many options from Titan, each one crafted to the highest standards, using time-honored craftsmanship, quality and diligence. These are the qualities that make each Titan watch a collectible, to own and pass on to one’s offspring, and passed on as an heirloom piece down the generations. So go ahead – it takes two minutes to purchase your Titan eCard, and just a few more seconds to deliver it to your recipient’s email account. Compare that few minutes to a lifetime of joy and the mark of prestige that comes from owning a Titan watch. Two minutes of your time buys a lifetime of joy for your recipient.