Aussies rated Dessert Boxes best for online gift deliveries in Canstar Blue’s latest review − giving it five stars for customer service, product accuracy, delivery reliability & timing, ease of site navigation, range of gifts on offer, and overall satisfaction.
From celebrating birthdays and farewells to company wins and even the odd ‘sorry I forgot’ days, there’s no better way to show someone you care than with a nice gift. Just ask the whopping 66% of our survey respondents who said they would buy an online gift again and the 64% who bought a gift for a special occasion. To help you choose a service that won’t let you down, Canstar Blue has wrapped up a review of the best online gift delivery services around.
Canstar Blue surveyed 1,194 Australians for their feedback on the online gift delivery service(s) they’ve purchased from in the last 12 months. Note: this does not include online department stores, it refers to websites specifically where you can order gifts to be delivered (including gift hampers, chocolates, balloons, teddy bears etc, and excludes flowers).
Respondents rate their satisfaction with their online gift delivery service(s) from zero to ten, where zero is extremely dissatisfied and ten is extremely satisfied. Brand satisfaction was rated by respondents on the following criteria:
The winning brand is the one that receives the highest Overall satisfaction rating once all the scores from the Overall satisfaction criteria are combined and averaged.
Brands must have received at least 30 responses to be included, so not all brands available in the market have been compared in this survey. The brands rated in this survey are listed below in order of best overall satisfaction.
Dessert Boxes tied up a win with five stars for customer service, product accuracy, delivery reliability and timing, ease of site navigation, range of gifts on offer, and overall satisfaction.
Gift Basket was the only brand to earn top marks for value for money and also enjoyed five stars for its range of gifts on offer, alongside runner-up The Chocolate Box. Meanwhile, Hampers With Bite impressed consumers on several fronts, including its customer service, delivery reliability and timing, ease of site navigation, and range of gifts on offer.
Other notable mentions include Edible Blooms which shared a win with The Hamper Emporium for ease of site navigation but streaked ahead to also claim five stars for customer service, and range of gifts on offer. Finally, LVLY rounded up the ratings with a sparkly five stars for product accuracy.
Find more detailed information on our Most Satisfied Customer methodology.
Forget charcuterie boards with crackers and cheese, it’s all about the sweet stuff for the folks at Dessert Boxes. Gifts usually start from $38 for cheeky novelty lollies, toys, and accessories, and reach up to nearly $300 for the World’s Biggest Dessert Box which is filled with donuts, brownies, cookies, chocolates, and candy. The brand also offers special occasion boxes for Valentine’s Day, anniversaries, graduations, birthdays, ‘sorry’ messages, and more.
Standard delivery costs $9.99 for recipients in Sydney and Wollongong and $15 for all other major cities in Australia, plus some regional locations. Shipping is free for all orders over $100. However, it currently does not deliver to the Northern Territory. Additionally, the company only offers weekend delivery for Sydney orders. Keep in mind that if you’re outside of the Sydney/Wollongong shopping area (i.e. the rest of Australia) product availability and range may vary.
Buying gifts online is certainly worth it, especially if you’re looking for an easy way to send someone a special gift, sympathy hamper, or bereavement gift. In fact, convenience is the number one reason people use online delivery websites (49%), according to our survey. The wide range of gifts available (17%) and the lack of physical stores nearby (16%) also drove shoppers to the internet, as did good deals (13%).
With almost half of our survey respondents (42%) using online gift delivery services for birthdays, anniversaries and other special occasions, it’s important to make sure you’re getting the best bang for your buck to avoid any disappointments (and not to mention embarrassment) so it’s a wise move to shop around. And it seems this may be the case for the 34% of respondents who said they’ve tried more than one gift delivery service.
Our latest survey suggests consumers have had fairly good experiences with ordering from Dessert Boxes and Hampers With Bite, both of which saw a mix of five and four-star reviews across the board.
Buying anything online is always risky, even more so if it’s a gift for someone special. A good intention can quickly turn into disappointment if the gift you ordered doesn’t turn up on time, or looks nothing like its internet description.
If you’re looking for a trusted online gift delivery service, start by reading reviews for different websites. Customer reviews aren’t gospel but can be a good indication of overall satisfaction. Watch for recurring themes in reviews and common observations about the service provider, but don’t get bogged down with the one-off negative review.
There are several online gift delivery services available in Australia, so do your research before handing over your hard-earned money.
Online Flower Delivery Reviews
Picture credits: Evgeny Atamnenko/ Shutterstock.com, Stock-Asso/ Shutterstock.com.
This report was written by Canstar Blue’s Site Editor, Dean Heckscher. He’s our resident expert on all things automotive, health & fitness, streaming and more. Dean is also one of Canstar Blue’s customer research report producers, helping to turn complicated subjects into easily-digestible information for our readers. He’s passionate about helping consumers make better-informed purchase decisions on all manner of consumer goods and services.
Samantha Howse is Canstar Blue’s Consumer Research Specialist, coordinating the consumer research program behind our customer satisfaction awards across Canstar and Canstar Blue in Australia and New Zealand. Sam has earned a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) from Griffith University and, with seven years in market research and 2 years in marketing, she is experienced in survey design, implementation and analysis, coupled with an understanding of marketing principles and best practice.
Here are the previous winners from Canstar Blue’s online gift delivery ratings:
Best-Rated Convenience Stores - May 11th
Many of us are happy to fork out a little extra for convenience, especially if it means staying in the comfort of our jammies ‘just this once’. We all deserve to treat ourselves to a …
– Read more
Best-Rated Breath Mints - March 28th
Many ‘egg-cited’ Aussie families will be out and about for Easter this year, with many taking advantage of the long weekend. So, if you need to stock up on supplies for the holidays – and …
– Read more
Best-Rated Equipment Stores - July 29th
Looking to get into shape but don’t want to leave the house? Find out what treadmills are on offer – and what they’ll cost you.
– Read more