New Friendgift Product Allows Consumers to Shop with Their Friends' Money

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 25, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Abandoned shopping carts aren't just a problem for supermarkets -- online retailers find that approximately 60% of website shopping carts are abandoned because consumers who add products to their shopping carts cannot afford to complete the purchase. Social rewards innovator Friendgift aims to change this with a new product, FriendPay, which enables consumers' friends to collectively chip-in toward the cost of a buyer's chosen products while reaping rewards for themselves in the form of special discounts toward purchases of millions of products, vacation opportunities and exciting live entertainment events.

"It's a classic win-win situation," said Rob Carpenter, Friendgift CEO. "FriendPay gives shoppers the opportunity to obtain the consumer products they really want but either can't afford or can't make a top spending priority -- hot items like the iPad 2 and Amazon Kindle Fire, the latest Android smartphones and Canon digital cameras, and other electronics, video games, movies and designer clothing and accessories. By alerting their friends to their chosen products through Facebook, Twitter or e-mail, these shoppers can collect multiple contributions from their friends, and the friends who contribute get instant rewards for the awesome products and activities they themselves want. It's a social media version of 'pay it forward' that solves a major dilemma for both the consumer and the merchant."

The new FriendPay product is the latest in a series of innovations and signals a return to the company's social reward roots. With FriendPay, consumers can shop directly for more than 10.5 million products from their favorite brands at Friendgift.com. In addition, shoppers can also set up FriendPay as a portable, personal gift registry, enabling them to acquire the items they truly want for birthdays, holidays or any other occasion rather than receiving unwanted gifts from friends and family who are guessing at their preferences.

With the private beta launch of the new FriendPay service, Friendgift is offering free shipping on almost all purchases as well as a discount of up to $50 to early adopters in return for trying FriendPay. The company also plans to expand the FriendPay service, partnering with national retailers to offer FriendPay capabilities on merchant websites so consumers can enjoy even more purchasing options.

"FriendPay could completely transform the way people shop for themselves and their friends," said Carpenter. "It provides advantages to everyone involved in the purchasing process: Buyers get contributions to purchase the items they really want. Friends who make contributions get instant rewards for helping out. And merchants get fewer abandoned shopping carts."

To learn more about Friendgift, visit Friendgift.com.

About Friendgift

Headquartered in Los Angeles, California, Friendgift is a social rewards community that rewards people and their friends for the activities they engage in every day, such as shopping. All rewards are redeemable for millions of consumer products, vacation opportunities and live entertainment events. Friendgift's parent company, Friendgiftr, has been recognized as a top emerging technology company and was founded by serial entrepreneur Rob Carpenter. Find out more at Friendgift.com.

SOURCE Friendgift