Nift is trying to improve customer loyalty with relevant gifts.
COURTESY OF NIFT
Nift, the technology company connecting e-commerce platforms to advertisers and brands to new consumers, has named Saket Mehta to its executive leadership team as chief revenue officer. In a recent conversation, Mehta revealed that American consumers are at a breaking point. Nearly 8 in 10 are bracing for economic uncertainty this holiday season, while drowning in promotional noise, with 63% feeling overwhelmed by shopping-related advertising. This is especially true of Gen Zers and Millennials.
It’s not all gloom and doom, however. The crisis presents an unprecedented opportunity for e-commerce media platforms willing to rethink consumer engagement, Mehta said. It’s called the Nift Gift and it’s meant to increase consumer loyalty and spark conversion at checkout. The Nift Impact Index Report reveals this critical disconnect between what consumers want and what brands deliver—and provides a roadmap for commerce leaders to build sustainable competitive advantage through authentic reciprocity, Mehta said.
Mehta’s appointment follows Nift’s recent partnership with Klarna and builds on its earlier launch with Cash App Afterpay, collaborations that underscore an industry shift as consumer fintech companies increasingly look to partner with brands and retailers to create more on-site ad inventory that is native to their customer experience. Nift’s AI-powered technology helps fintech and other consumer-facing platforms monetize their commerce media network (CMN) inventory while offering a more personalized experience that boosts consumer sentiment, engagement and loyalty.
“We’re extremely pleased to welcome Saket Mehta as our first chief revenue officer,” said Elery Pfeffer, founder and CEO of Nift in a statement. “His track record of scaling global advertising partnerships and revenue across fintech, logistics and adtech companies, and his experience helping grow organizations from startup to successful acquisition to IPO, make him the ideal leader to drive our next stage of revenue growth and build our commerce partner and DTC brand networks.”
Mehta, who was formerly with Block/Cash App Afterpay, joined Nift two months ago. “It’s awesome,” he said. “I love it. We did this big Harris Poll with 2,001 consumers to see how they’re feeling and the big economic impact tariffs are having around the world, ” said Mehta, who has long believed in incentivizing customers. Before joining Nift, he used gifts at Afterpay as a monetization tool, he said.
Based on comprehensive research with The Harris Poll surveying 2,001 U.S. adults, the Nift report equips commerce media executives with data-driven strategies to reverse the trust erosion crisis and strengthen customer relationships. Nift Gifts are designed to encourage consumers to try products and services they’ve never tried before.
This reverses trust erosion and strengthens customer relationships, Mehta said, adding that reciprocity-based programs are designed to drive measurable return on investment (ROI).
The gifts create sustainable competitive moats by encouraging emotional loyalty, Mehta added, building premium brand partnerships that enhance customer experience. Mehta said that by participating in Nift, retailers will be able to navigate the holiday season more smoothly with appreciation-driven differentiation.
“We have about 8,000 advertisers within our ecosystem, a mix of local and national brands,” Mehta said, adding, “for example, your local taco shop and bars and restaurants all the way up to market and enterprise brands such as the Amazons, Disneys and Fabletics of the world.
“We ask them to create unique gifts and offers that are unavailable through standard media channels like affiliate and performance marketing solutions and to use our network of about 100 publishers including Cash App Afterpay, Klarna, Spirit, Planet Fitness and others, to show these highly rich offers through customer-intent driven environments.”
“It’s not just post-purchase where you see all these post-transactions players play,” Mehta said. “It’s actually adjacent and very complimentary to the transaction. It could be when you check into the gym, when you land on your flight, after you attend an event, when you make a second on-time payment, when you upgrade your memberships, etc. Those are high-intent customer moments that commerce and retail players are looking to take advantage of to drive a surprise and delight moment while making revenue. They use Nift to power those touchpoints and platforms that are there.”
Consumers are feeling they’re being bombarded with everything in their face feeling like a hard sell. That’s leading to 78% of customers believing that brands aren’t offering the kinds of rewards and support they once did and that they’re just shoving things down their throats. “It’s really important to have a really strong and intentional customer relationship that’s not just driven by traditional advertising, rather it’s driven by intent-based and native-based advertising,” Mehta said. “That doesn’t bode well for the holiday season, but retailers can turn it around with intentional and thoughtful gifts.”