■ More than one in six LINE app users have joined the culture of digital gift-giving
TOKYO – June 7, 2021 – LINE Corporation ("LINE") announced today that LINE GIFT*, a service where users can send a wide variety of gifts to their friends using the LINE app, has exceeded a total of 15 million users** in May 2021.
*LINE GIFT website: https://gift.line.me/about (Japanese only)
**Number of unique users who have sent or received a gift via LINE Gift
The demand for sending gifts through social media has grown while the COVID-19 crisis continues to prevent people from seeing each other in person. In such times, LINE GIFT has been gaining popularity as a new communication tool: users who bought a gift on LINE Gift for the first time on Valentine's Day this year increased about 2.4 times compared to the same day last year. Furthermore, the gross merchandise value on Mother's Day this year increased about 2.5 times from last year.
Launched in April 2015, LINE GIFT is a communication service that lets users send gifts to their friends through LINE chat. Users can easily send gifts without knowing their friend's real address or meeting them in person. The service is used to send small thank you gifts and gifts for various occasions, including seasonal events, important life events, and so on.
Users increased rapidly after the state of emergency was declared in April 2020
LINE GIFT users especially increased after the state of emergency was announced in April 2020. In May 2020, first-time users increased about 1.5 times over the previous month. On Mother’s Day, LINE GIFT allowed users to send gifts remotely when families were kept apart for the first time due to COVID-19. User base continued to soar over the previous fiscal year during seasonal events such as Christmas and Valentine's Day. First time users trended upwards in all months even where no events were held. LINE GIFT has become a new communication tool for users in their daily lives amid the current pandemic.
LINE GIFT promotional events
LINE has launched various promotions on LINE GIFT, including "Minna ni gifuto (Gift to Everyone)" where users receive more deals on purchases the more they send gifts to their friends, and “Gift1 Get1” where users receive the same gift they send to their friends. Up to 200,000 users participated in promotions on a single day.
About LINE GIFT
LINE GIFT is a communication service that lets users send gifts to their friends through LINE chat. LINE users can easily send gifts to friends and loved ones without having to input a postal address or meet in person for all kinds of occasions, whether it be to send a small thank you gift, or to mark a seasonal event or a major life event. LINE GIFT offers gifts for every occasion, from a simple convenience store coffee to more substantial gifts.
With COVID-19 preventing many people from catching up with their friends and loved ones in person, LINE GIFT has garnered attention as a new communication tool that has allowed users to relay their feelings even in such circumstances. The service is experiencing rapid growth, recently exceeding 15 million users*, and recorded a 250% year-on-year increase in annual gross merchandise volume from 2020.
*Cumulative number of unique users who have sent or received a gift via LINE GIFT