New app eases regifting problems

The days of regifting may soon be over.

Three large firms, including the owner of Simon Malls, have invested $2.5 million in Jifiti, a company whose app makes gifters' and giftees' lives easier.

The Jifiti -- pronounced with the emphasis falling on the first syllable -- app allows gift givers to scan items in-store, buy them, and send personalized digital gift cards for their purchases via smartphone. Recipients can redeem their vouchers at participating stores near them, choosing the size, color and style they want -- or even an entirely different gift.

App users can also create wish lists to broadcast the kinds of presents they hope to receive.

Jifiti marketing officer Shaul Weisband said the free app lets givers combine "the thoughtfulness of the gift with the flexibility of the gift card." His startup makes its profit by buying store gift cards in bulk at discount prices and essentially reselling them, he said.

The Body Shop, Gap and Sephora are among about 15 retailers at the three Simon malls on Long Island -- Roosevelt Field, Walt Whitman Shops and Smith Haven -- that process gift card codes generated by Jifiti. According to Mikael Thygesen, Simon Property Group's chief marketing officer, "Several other retailers are in the final stages of going live on the app." -- NICOLE LEVY