How Gift Card Emails Work on an E-commerce Website

Customer Purchases a Gift Card

The buyer adds the gift card to their cart and completes checkout. The system generates a unique gift card code for the order.

Gift Card Email Sent to the Buyer

The gift card email is sent to the email address of the person who placed the order (the buyer). It contains a link to view the gift card along with its redeemable code.

Buyer Forwards the Email to the Recipient

Since most e-commerce platforms do not have a built-in option for buyers to enter the recipient’s email, the buyer must manually forward the gift card email to the intended recipient.

Gift Cards vs. Discount Codes

A gift card acts as a payment method, while a discount code only reduces the total order amount. Gift cards can cover the full order, have a remaining balance that can be used later, and can be combined with discount codes. In contrast, discount codes do not carry a balance and only one discount code can typically be applied per order.