Unibail-Rodamco-Westfield

Multiple providers, no unified experience

‍

URW’s legacy gift card landscape reflected the complexity of a pan-European portfolio: multiple providers, inconsistent branding by country, uneven economics, and significant challenges ensuring a coherent customer journey. 

The absence of a unified, country-wide Westfield gift card created an inconsistent experience for shoppers and added operational complexity for teams. With each country running its own setup, local teams were repeatedly solving the same issues, driving up costs and slowing progress. 

At the same time, URW needed a stronger digital solution that could support online sales, digital delivery and seamless redemption across devices.

URW required a partner that could standardise at scale, while still adapting to local rules. Someone to provide a simple and profitable model globally, reliable availability locally, and a modern digital journey – all managed under one central framework but deployed market by market.

One framework rolled out market by market

‍

URW selected Giftify through a competitive tender to implement a unified, Westfield card that would work across all centres in a given country, governed by a global framework and rolled out market by market. 

The partnership combines corporate oversight with hands-on local deployment by Giftify’s operational teams. In essence, URW now enjoys a unified model for gift card programmes that is easy to deploy in any market they require.

Availability and simplicity are key tenets of the framework, with group-level validation now possible for everything from card designs to planned sales channels. 

Giftify’s advanced technology further enhances the value of the programmes by providing digital channels for gift card purchases and redemptions, improving the consumer experience. This digital offering includes enabling shoppers to add cards to their Apple Wallet or Google Wallet and make contactless payments across stores.

Crucially, thanks to Giftify’s unique economic model, URW was able to redefine the role of its gift cards; transforming them from simple marketing tools into meaningful revenue drivers for the group. 

Beyond focusing on revenue generation KPIs, the new URW gift card programme is designed to integrate seamlessly with existing loyalty initiatives while enhancing the overall shopper experience through new digital journeys and improved data reporting. 

Giftify is committed to local adaptation (it supports 200+ currencies, for example), and the digital offering will increasingly live inside URW’s own ecosystem, ensuring brand coherence and data integrity.

Standardised, scaled, and ready for more

‍

While still early in the rollout, URW has already achieved one governance model and brand standardisation across multiple markets. 

France, Czechia, Poland, Spain, The Netherlands and Austria are live under the framework, with the UK onboarding. More major European markets are expected to join in 2026 as incumbent contracts expire

The programme now scales horizontally, with central oversight helping to concentrate the scope of local decision-making where it is most needed, while also reducing rework and shortening time-to-launch. 

Operational risk is lowered through this new framework model, and gift card availability is strengthened via multiple physical and digital sales channels. 

Over the next cycle, URW expects higher sales, smoother journeys, and stronger retailer support with a data foundation to measure it.

Global scale with local adaptability built in

‍

Three factors stood out for URW. First, global standardisation with local fit: the ability to run a single Westfield card per country, with consistent branding and central reporting, while flexing for currency, volume, and compliance. 

Second, excellent availability and scale: omnichannel sales (physical/digital/wallet), acceptance on existing payment rails, and automated vending machines to extend hours and reduce queueing. 

Third, Giftify’s ability to work with a coordinated, cross-country structure, which enabled constructive problem-solving and avoided information siloes forming.

Together, these strengths turn the gift card from a transactional product into a scalable, strategic platform for engagement and revenue.