GiftRocker

What GiftRocker does

GiftRocker is a privately-held SaaS platform founded in 2011 in Arlington, Virginia, that enables small and mid-sized merchants — predominantly restaurants, breweries, cafes, and a small number of education and retail accounts — to sell digital and physical gift cards, event tickets, fixed-price experiences, loyalty programs, and promotional campaigns. The platform is white-label by design: merchants sell through their own branded online order pages, mobile apps, and social channels (website, Facebook, Twitter, SMS/text, Apple Wallet), with GiftRocker's underlying infrastructure — Twilio for SMS, Stripe / First Data / Heartland for payment processing and merchant fund settlement, MailGun for email, Dwolla for ACH, and Apple Passbook/Wallet for digital storage — operating invisibly. Notable product capabilities include a QR-code-based physical gift card system that eliminates EMV-chip cost overhead (cards priced from $0.12–$1.08 each), an event pre-selling engine with automatic attendee cap management, a fraud-detection engine evaluating 70+ transaction attributes per purchase, and a differentiated 'Buy Someone Dinner' preauthorized gift card product that converts unused balances into higher-yield tickets averaging 240% above standard gift card values at one Manhattan restaurant.

The company's go-to-market is a hybrid self-serve + community-led motion. SMB merchants onboard in approximately five minutes via giftrocker.com with a Stripe account (no upfront capital, no long-term contract under the Fair & Flexible pay-per-use plan), while larger restaurant groups are pursued through a dedicated sales motion ([email protected]) with per-location group discounts. Founder and CEO Alex Robertson anchors the company, supported by industry advisors Bob Nelson (serial entrepreneur, startup GTM) and Michael Sternberg (veteran restaurateur and National Restaurant Association board member), and amplified through RAMW (Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington) membership that funnels trust signals into the DC-area restaurant market. Pricing is modular subscription ($35/month Essential, $40/month Premium, $50/month Premium Plus) plus optional add-ons (Gift Card Service $10, Captain's Table Reservations $50), usage-based overages ($0.35/item beyond 100/month), and physical card printing revenue (cards, envelopes, loyalty FOBs). Notable customer logos span individual restaurants (Rose's Luxury, Tribeca Grill, Liholiho Yacht Club, Lebanese Taverna, The Red Hen, Batard, Table 128 Bistro, Table DC, Nopa, La Cuchara), restaurant groups (Neighborhood Restaurant Group with seven+ concepts and cross-location redemption), breweries (Port City Brewing, Brewery Saint X), cafes (Northside Social, Crescendo Espresso), and education (Marin County Day School for book fair gift cards). No external institutional funding rounds are disclosed.

Financial scale is modest: 1–10 employees, no disclosed revenue, founder-owned with advisor equity. Performance claims derive from early-stage metrics (Q2 2012 29% conversion rate vs. a ~2.5% global e-commerce benchmark, 42% YoY same-store sales lift December 2011–2012, 350% December-over-December fund volume growth) and from current-era signals such as 100% of top-grossing shops having more than 2,000 Facebook Likes and 39.95% of yearly online gift certificate sales concentrated in the holiday season. Pricing was last updated April 2022, and the platform remained live through the COVID-19 crisis — GiftRocker offered free sign-ups and billing relief from March–August 2020 — evidence of operating continuity rather than high-growth momentum. The addressable context is a $160B+ annual gift card commerce market and over $40B in lost/forgotten plastic gift card balances since 2005.

Name

GiftRocker

Legal name

GiftRocker LLC

Website

https://giftrocker.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

GiftRocker is an Arlington, Virginia-based SaaS platform that enables restaurants, breweries, cafes, and SMB merchants to sell white-label digital and physical gift cards, event tickets, fixed-price experiences, and promotional campaigns through their own websites, mobile apps, and social channels.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Restaurant Gift Card and Marketing Platform

NAICS

Gift, Novelty, and Souvenir Retailers (45942)

SIC

Retail-Catalog & Mail-Order Houses (5961)

akta.pro primary industry

Closed-Loop Gift Cards (Single-Merchant) (FSAMANAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Branded Merchandise & Corporate Gifts (BPAFAMAA), Trade Show Giveaways & Event Premiums (BPAFAMAG), Corporate & Client Gifting Programs (HSACANAE)

Keywords

• Digital gift card platform
• Restaurant gift cards
• Event ticketing software
• Loyalty management software
• Merchant marketing tools

Headquarters

HQ city

Arlington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Subscription Plans (Essential, Premium, Premium Plus): Monthly recurring subscription charged per store/location. Three tiers: Essential ($35/month) covers basic gift card selling; Premium ($40/month) adds events and fixed-price experiences; Premium Plus ($50/month) adds physical gift card printing. Special pricing for restaurant groups available upon request. Also a Loyalty Only plan at $35/month and Events Only at $0.75/ticket.
2. Per-Item Overage Charges: Under the Fair & Flexible plan, after the first 100 items (gift cards, events, fixed-price items, prepaid packs) included per month, shopkeepers are charged $0.35 per additional item. Email/text outreach limited to 25/day to prevent spam.
3. Gift Card Printing (Physical Cards, Envelopes, FOBs): Physical gift card printing in multiple formats (14pt, 16pt, drink coaster thickness, metal cards), envelopes, and loyalty FOBs (RFID key fobs) sold as one-time unit purchases. Card printing ranges from $0.12–$1.08 per unit depending on material, quantity, and thickness. Custom design available for $90. FOBs priced at $0.30–$0.60/unit.
4. Add-On Subscriptions (Gift Card Service, Captain's Table): Optional add-ons to base subscription: Gift Card Service ($10/store/month) and Captain's Table Reservations with Deposits ($50/store/month). These stack on top of the base Essential subscription, making the effective monthly cost higher for merchants using these features.
5. COVID-19 Online To-Go Ordering: During the COVID-19 pandemic, GiftRocker offered a free online to-go ordering service (free for at least 90 days during the pandemic). This represented a potential new revenue stream or customer acquisition tool during the crisis period.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels7 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

GiftRocker provides a white-label SaaS platform that enables SMB merchants (primarily restaurants, breweries, and cafes) to sell digital and physical gift cards, pre-sell event tickets, offer fixed-price experiences, and run promotional campaigns through branded online ordering pages, mobile apps, and social channels. Merchants sign up, brand their own ordering page, and begin selling gift cards and event tickets online, in-store, and via SMS/email within minutes, with no upfront capital investment.

Product overview

GiftRocker is a unified gifting and marketing platform with a modular architecture offering three subscription tiers: Essential ($35/month), Premium ($40/month), and Premium Plus ($50/month). The core platform enables digital and physical gift card sales, event pre-selling, fixed-price experiences, and promotional campaigns. Add-on services include loyalty programs, VIP auto-loading cards, physical card printing, Captain's Table reservations, and mobile apps for both shopkeepers (iPhone/iPad) and customers (digital wallet integration). Settlement options integrate with Stripe, First Data, and Heartland for payment processing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• GiftRocker Platform (Digital Gifting, Events, and Promotions SaaS) A white-label SaaS subscription platform that lets SMB merchants (primarily restaurants, breweries, and cafes) sell branded digital and physical gift cards, pre-sell event tickets, sell fixed-price experiences, run percent-off and tiered promotions, and manage customer loyalty programs from a single dashboard. Available in Essential ($35/mo), Premium ($40/mo), and Premium Plus ($50/mo) tiers with a Fair & Flexible pay-per-use option.
• Buy Someone Dinner (Preauthorized Gift Cards) A preauthorized gift card product in which the buyer authorizes a specific dollar amount for a recipient's meal including tax and tip; the merchant captures the actual charge after the meal. Unused authorizations roll off automatically without charge. Aimed at fine dining and corporate gifting use cases; reported at one Manhattan restaurant to average 240% higher than standard gift card averages.
• Shopkeeper iPhone/iPad App

Quantifiable outcome

• 29% conversion rate vs. 2.5% global e-commerce average (Q2 2012)
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers30 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

15 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationGiftRocker uses Stripe as the primary payment processor and merchant fund settlement provider. Shopkeepers create a Stripe account during onboarding. Funds are sent daily from Stripe to the merchant's bank account. Stripe charges 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. GiftRocker recommends Stripe for all merchants and provides integrated onboarding during sign-up. Stripe's logo appears prominently on GiftRocker's partners page.
• TwiliocoreTechnology or IntegrationTwilio provides the SMS and text messaging infrastructure enabling GiftRocker's text-based gift card delivery. Customers can send gift cards as text messages, and scheduled text delivery for occasions like Father's Day is a key feature. Twilio's logo appears on GiftRocker's partners page.
• MailGuncoreTechnology or IntegrationMailGun provides transactional email infrastructure for GiftRocker's email gift card delivery, event confirmations, and reminder emails. GiftRocker sends gift cards, receipts, and promotional communications via email.
• RackspacesupportingTechnology or IntegrationRackspace provides managed cloud hosting infrastructure supporting GiftRocker's platform. Rackspace logo appears on the partners page, indicating a hosting/cloud services relationship.
• First Data (now Fiserv)coreTechnology or IntegrationFirst Data's Payeezy Gateway is offered as an alternative payment processor for merchants who anticipate more than $3,000/month in online sales and already use First Data. GiftRocker integrates with First Data to enable e-commerce payment processing. Recommended for high-volume merchants seeking negotiated rates.
• Heartland Payment Systems (Global Payments)coreTechnology or IntegrationHeartland's Secure Submit Gateway is offered as an alternative payment processor for merchants with over $3,000/month in online sales who already use Heartland. Through Heartland Gift, GiftRocker integrates with Micros, Dinerware, Digital Dining, and LiquorPOS point-of-sale systems, enabling gift card redemption tracking within existing POS workflows.
• Toast POScoreTechnology or IntegrationGiftRocker integrates with Toast POS, enabling merchants to manage gift card redemption and tracking within the Toast ecosystem. This is a key POS integration for restaurant merchants using Toast as their primary point-of-sale system.
• Apple (Passbook / Apple Wallet)coreTechnology or IntegrationGiftRocker's digital gift cards, event tickets, and promotions are natively compatible with Apple Passbook (now Apple Wallet). Customers can add merchant gift cards to their Apple Wallet, providing convenient mobile access and brand visibility. GiftRocker showcases merchant passes (Liberty Tavern, Lost Dog Cafe) in their digital wallet showcase.
• DwollasupportingTechnology or IntegrationDwolla's ACH network was originally used for merchant fund settlement. GiftRocker used Dwolla to transfer funds to shopkeepers' bank accounts, though the settlement process evolved to include Stripe and other options. Dwolla's API enabled affordable small-value transactions.
• Card.iosupportingTechnology or IntegrationCard.io provided mobile credit card scanning technology enabling the GiftRocker Shopkeeper app to capture card information from the merchant's iPhone camera, facilitating in-store gift card activation and sales.
• Sir SpeedysupportingTechnology or IntegrationSir Speedy printing services are partnered with GiftRocker for physical gift card design and printing production. GiftRocker offers custom physical gift card design ($90) and produces cards in various materials (paper, plastic, metal) — Sir Speedy appears as a printing/production partner.
• LeadingDCsupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerLeadingDC is a DC-area business networking organization. GiftRocker's partnership provides visibility and networking within the DC business community. LeadingDC logo appears on GiftRocker's partners page.
• TLC DesignsupportingTechnology or IntegrationTLC Design provides graphic design services for custom gift card branding and merchant visual identity work. TLC Design logo appears on GiftRocker's partners page.
• RAMW (Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington)coreGTM or Marketing PartnerGiftRocker is a member of RAMW, the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington. RAMW membership provides credibility, networking, and referrals within the DC metro restaurant operator community. GiftRocker appears in RAMW member listings and benefits from association trust signals.
• WhitepagessupportingGTM or Marketing PartnerGiftRocker founder Alex Robertson participated in a Whitepages live webinar on September 13, 2018 covering holiday preparation and fraud prevention. Whitepages provided a platform for GiftRocker to reach a broader small business audience with gifting best practices and platform education.

Scale indicators16 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Givex: Givex provides gift card, stored value, and loyalty solutions specifically to restaurants and retail chains - directly overlapping GiftRocker's restaurant gifting, event ticketing, and loyalty modules. Operates at larger enterprise scale (multi-location chains) but in the same product category.
• GiftUp: GiftUp is a white-label digital gift card platform sold to SMB merchants - the closest head-to-head comparable to GiftRocker with similar self-serve onboarding, branded storefronts, and POS integrations. Targets the same restaurant, retail, and experience-merchant use cases.
• Yiftee: Yiftee is a local merchant gift card platform targeted at small businesses for driving foot traffic via digital gift cards. Overlaps with GiftRocker's SMB restaurant gifting focus, with similar self-serve orientation and merchant-side admin. Smaller-scale comparable with similar go-to-market.
• eCardSystems: eCardSystems (now part of InComm) provides gift card issuance, processing, and program management to restaurants and retail chains. Directly comparable on closed-loop gift card infrastructure, though operates more at program-management and processing layer rather than GiftRocker's SMB self-serve SaaS layer.

Broad incumbents

• Block (Square) Gift Cards: Square (Block) sells integrated gift card functionality to SMBs as part of its broader payments and POS ecosystem. Closely comparable because it offers white-label digital gift cards at low price points and is a primary substitute for GiftRocker in the SMB restaurant vertical, but with vastly broader product portfolio and distribution.
• Blackhawk Network: Blackhawk Network is a large-scale gift card distribution, stored value, and payments network serving retailers, restaurants, and financial institutions. Compares to GiftRocker on the closed-loop gift card commercial axis but operates at much larger scale and via B2B distribution partnerships rather than self-serve SMB SaaS.
• Toast Gift Cards: Toast bundles gift card selling and redemption inside its dominant restaurant POS platform, with deep integration to Toast hardware and software. Competes head-on for the same restaurant customers GiftRocker targets and is actually one of GiftRocker's POS integration partners - representing both collaborator and bundling competitor.
• Clover (Fiserv) Gift Cards: Fiserv's Clover POS includes gift card and stored value features aimed at small restaurants and retail merchants. Comparable on the gift card and merchant settlement axis, and Fiserv is also a first-class payment processing partner alternative GiftRocker routes high-volume merchants to (Heartland/Fiserv -).

Emerging players

• Tremendous: Tremendous is a corporate gifting, rewards, and payout platform enabling businesses to send digital gift cards and prepaid options to recipients. Comparable on the digital gift card delivery and corporate gifting use case that GiftRocker's 'Buy Someone Dinner' feature also addresses, but with a stronger corporate buyer focus.
• Incentivio: Incentivio is a restaurant guest engagement platform offering online ordering, loyalty, and gift cards for mid-market and enterprise restaurant chains. Adjacent overlap with GiftRocker's gifting and loyalty modules but built for larger chains and a more enterprise GTM.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/GiftRocker
• Instagraminstagram.com/giftrocker
• Xx.com/giftrocker
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/giftrocker

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about GiftRocker