What is Govalo?

In June of 2021, Rhian started thinking deeply about the future of digital gifting. As the US nears 50% ecommerce penetration, she asked herself why gifting and gift cards were so far in the past. The Covid-19 pandemic rapidly propelled ecommerce into the future yet still left gifting in the dust.

As a near-decade-long veteran of the Shopify ecosystem and with over two decades of retail and adjacent retail industries, she started with the why.

Why are we accepting mediocrity when digital gifting instead of seeking excellence?
Why are there no elegant gifting solutions on Shopify?
Why can’t you send a gift card directly to another person?
Why don’t ecommerce stores leverage gift cards more?
Why are we okay with gifting products that barely approach mediocracy?
Why can’t you gift a single product to a Shopify store?
Why can’t you gift a subscription?
Why has no one cracked the code?

Then she started building.