Having just the right gift delivered fuss-free has proven to be the next best thing to being there in person!

And what better way to share good wishes across the country than with a hand-selected gift accompanied by a premium greeting or photo card personalized with your message?

By teaming with Card Isle, Giften Market offers a complete package – high quality, boxed gift sets enhanced by a customized greeting card.

From Giften Market’s website, consumers can access Card Isle’s site to choose – or create - a unique greeting card to add to their online gift order. The card is then printed at Giften’s new state-of-the-art Edina, MN, distribution facility and included with the shipped order.

The customizable card holds multiple purposes: in addition to sending a greeting, it identifies the sender and “makes the gift extra special,” says Giften founder Martha Krueger.

Giften Market shoppers have taken note; to date,

more than 27 percent of Giften orders ship with an add-on Card Isle greeting card.

With selections from 150+ gift vendors and 400+ greeting card designers, the collaboration allows consumers to “shop local” while shopping online, she adds.

With 25,000+ Card Isle card designs to choose from, Giften Market shoppers have an “endless aisle” of occasion-specific and customizable greetings, ensuring just the right card to complement their gift shipment. Customers can add photos, logos, personal messages and their own verses, if they choose.

“Card Isle is a solution our customers were looking for,” notes Krueger.

Since the beginning of the collaboration in late 2019, shoppers have added thousands of Card Isle cards to their Giften Market orders, lifting the online retailer’s average order value (AOV) by more than 2 percent.

shoppers have added thousands of Card Isle cards to their Giften Market orders, lifting the online retailer’s average order value (AOV) by more than 2 percent.

“Until I saw the [revenue] statistic, I hadn’t really thought about the benefit to the revenue,” says Krueger. “Revenue is important, but for me and my customers, the service and convenience are a big differentiator. We are getting more repeat customers because of the greeting card personalization.”

Krueger is especially taken with her customers’ creativity. “It’s sweet how many people are uploading photos, logos, custom artwork to include on their [Card Isle] card. Very heartfelt messages.”

Giften Market has a growing following in corporate gifts – thank yous, congratulations, etc. – for employees and clients. “People are getting very creative with logos and personal designs” on their enclosed Card Isle cards, she adds.

“The card is a really important part for corporate gifters,” explains Krueger. “They want their own logo on it, want to personalize it with an employee’s name or client’s name.”

Before partnering with Card Isle, Giften Market included a hand-written note in each order. That option was not customizable, and not sustainable for long messages, notes Krueger.

Before partnering with Card Isle, Giften Market included a hand-written note in each order. That option was not customizable, and not sustainable for long messages

“I didn’t know print on demand was an option for greeting cards,” says Krueger, who, as a new business owner, was investigating buying a printer and software to automate printing gift enclosures.

Enter Card Isle. A representative contacted Krueger, who was impressed by the premium quality of the available artwork, the paper and the print.

“We have to have an eye for quality,” she notes. “Every order is a gift.”

As a detail-oriented owner of a busy rapidly growing business, Krueger also appreciates Card Isle’s turnkey operation and proactive customer service.

When Giften Market receives an online order containing a Card Isle card, a print code appears in the shopping cart. When a gift box is assembled, the Giften Market associate simply enters the code to print the card and then bundles it with the order before shipping.

“The software plugs into my website,” Krueger explains. “[Card Isle] has a great team of engineers that make it all work.” Card Isle also supplies the paper and ink used to produce the on-demand cards, thereby ensuring consistent quality. Card Isle works proactively to make sure Giften is prepared for sales surges, managing the details so the busy online retailer can focus on inventory, shipping and customer service.

“[Card Isle] has a great team of engineers that make it all work.”

“That takes the worry off my business,” raves Krueger. “If we run out of supplies, we would have to either hold up orders or turn off the card feature on the website. Neither is a great option.”

Card Isle works to ensure Giften Market is always in business, Krueger notes. “The team is great about giving advice to make our operation run efficiently.”

What’s ahead for the successful collaboration?

“We expect to market the Card Isle option more this year,” says Krueger. “We demo it to corporate customers and on sales calls. We show [the cards] on Zoom calls.”

And, as Krueger anticipates doubling Giften Market’s business in 2023 - after meeting 2022 goals for revenue and boxes sold – Card Isle will be wowing a whole new audience of gift buyers.

Want to Know More?

Interested in learning more about Card Isle’s all-in-one solution? Schedule a demo to learn how our custom card software can integrate with your e-commerce platform and start boosting your e-commerce profitability.