Google Gifting Product Case: UX, Architecture, Launch and Market Sizing

You are a product manager at Google. Design a service that helps people give gifts, and cover four things: what the user interface looks like, how you would build it, how you would take it to market, and how large its total addressable market is. ### Clarifying Questions - Which gift types are in scope: physical goods, digital gift cards, experiences, or all of them? - Should Google sell and fulfill gifts itself, or connect givers to existing merchants? - Should the market estimate cover the US only or the whole world? - Is the main goal revenue, engagement with existing Google products, or a stronger position in shopping? ### Part 1 — Product and user interface Decide who the service is for and what problem it solves, then walk through its main screens and flows. ```hint Start from the hard part of gifting Paying is easy; remembering the occasion, choosing well and getting the gift there on time are not. Ask which Google products already know about occasions and recipients, and under what consent. ``` #### What This Part Should Cover - A target user and the core gifting problem chosen for them - The key flows from occasion to delivery, including what the recipient sees - Where the service appears across Google's products and what the MVP includes - Privacy controls for both the giver and the recipient ### Part 2 — Technical implementation strategy Describe how you would build the service: the main components, the data each one needs, and what you would reuse from Google rather than build new. ```hint Split the problem Treat recommending a gift and completing a purchase as separate systems, and ask which existing Google systems each one can lean on. ``` #### What This Part Should Cover - The main components and how data flows between them - How gift recommendations are generated, including for a brand-new user - Merchant integration, payments and delivery, with a phased build plan - Reliability under seasonal peaks, plus privacy and security ### Part 3 — Go-to-market plan Explain how you would launch the service and grow it. ```hint Gifting has a calendar Demand peaks around a few occasions, and every gift reaches someone new. Use both when you plan timing and growth. ``` #### What This Part Should Cover - Launch market, target segment and timing - Acquisition channels, including Google's own surfaces and growth through recipients - Merchant partnerships and the business model - Launch metrics and the conditions for expanding ### Part 4 — Total addressable market Estimate the service's total addressable market. ```hint Define the market before sizing it Decide whether you are sizing all gift spending or only what the service could earn, then build up from people, occasions and spend. ``` #### What This Part Should Cover - A clear definition of what is being sized - An equation with every assumption labeled and stated in round numbers - Correct arithmetic and a sanity check against an independent figure ### What a Strong Answer Covers - One consistent product choice carried through all four parts - A clear reason why Google specifically can win at gifting - Privacy and trust handled throughout, since gifting runs on personal data about people who never signed up - Explicit trade-offs and risks, including competition from large online retailers ### Follow-up Questions - After a year, what results would make you keep investing, and what would make you shut the service down? - How would you handle a recipient who does not want the giver to learn their address? - Which single metric would you watch to decide whether to expand beyond the launch market?