Lottay Cautions “Gift Cards Are the New Fruitcake”

Lottay Cautions “Gift Cards Are the New Fruitcake”

Launch of ‘Our Wishing Wall’ Provides Social Snapshot of Online Gift Giving Worldwide; Prompts Wish List Creation to Avoid Unwanted Gift Cards (and Fruitcakes)

• Consumer Reports survey: 46 percent plan to buy gift cards; only 15 percent want them
• Our Wishing Wall inspires creative wishing and gift giving for holiday shopping
• Wish lists may be shared with friends and family via Facebook and Twitter
• Visit Our Wishing Wall at http://www.OurWishingWall.com before Black Friday, Cyber Monday

LOS ANGELES, Calif., Nov. 24, 2009 — Lottay, the online gift-giving company, today cautioned holiday shoppers and the public at large that gift cards are the new fruitcake. To counter the perpetuation of unwanted gift card (and fruitcake) giving, the company launched Our Wishing Wall, http://www.OurWishingWall.com, where people can anonymously post their wishes for all to see. The new site provides a social snapshot of online gift giving worldwide, prompting people to create wish lists that reflect what they really want for the holidays and other gifting occasions.

“With all due respect to fruitcake fans, the object of your affection has become the popular, brandy-soaked symbol of the gift nobody wants,” said Harry Lin, CEO of Lottay. “Now, gift cards are vying for that title, sans brandy and green maraschino cherries. Instead, the ingredients of unwanted gift cards are expiration dates, service fees and lock-in to a single store. Our mission is to help you give better gifts, and Our Wishing Wall is a place to inspire and be inspired, where wishes can be anything, from anywhere, limited only by your imagination.”

Our Wishing Wall and the Gift Card Fail

The shortcomings of gift cards have been documented most recently by Consumer Reports and a flurry of regional warnings. According to an October 2009 survey by Consumer Reports, the “perils” of gift cards include:

• Unwanted – 46 percent of people plan on buying gift cards but only 15 percent want them.
• Unused – About 12 percent of people had yet to redeem at least one of the gift cards they received during the 2008 holiday season.
• Overspent – 65 percent of people who received a gift card in 2008 typically spent more than the value of the card.
• Limited – 41 percent of people with unused, 2008 gift cards hadn’t found anything they wanted to buy.
• Expensive – Gift cards can include fees, expiration dates, etc.

Our Wishing Wall helps avoid the perils of gift cards and other unwanted gifts. An aggregation of wishes from around the world, Our Wishing Wall encourages people to “wish outside the box.” Likewise, gift givers are prompted to “give outside the box,” coming up with creative, thoughtful gifts they can give in the form of cash wrapped in Lottay’s e-greeting cards, personalized messages, images and pictures, and then delivered safely and securely via PayPal.

Visitors to Our Wishing Wall can scroll through its pages, viewing what other people are wishing for and posting their own wishes. It also offers an at-a-glance summary of the site’s most popular wishes. All wishes on Our Wishing Wall are anonymous. People who want to share their wishes with friends and family members can create their own, personal wish lists on Lottay.com and post them to Facebook or Twitter or simply email them to whomever they want.

For more information on Lottay, please visit www.lottay.com. To get breaking Lottay news and additional perspectives, visit the Lottay blog at http://hintsdontwork.blogspot.com. Follow Lottay on Twitter at @GiveGiftsOnline and visit the Facebook fan page at http://www.facebook.com/LottayInc.

About Lottay

Lottay™ Inc. makes giving and receiving the gift of money a personal, heartfelt experience. The free, online service uses e-greeting cards, private messages, images and pictures to wrap money in the emotion of the occasion. Gift givers and recipients enjoy the intimacy of a personalized present and the flexibility of money—all backed up by the safety and security of PayPal. Lottay was founded in 2008 and is headquartered in the greater Los Angeles area. For more information, please visit www.lottay.com.

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