This isn't really a gift certificate to anywhere. It seems more like just paying your friend to go somewhere. They can redeem the gift, then spend the money anywhere.
Also I may be wrong, but 99.9% of physical stores don't accept Paypal, so your friend would already have to have the gift amount in cash or credit/debit.
Right. I see that this is a distinction from just sending my friend money via PayPal. However, it (1) requires my friend to have a smartphone and (2) makes them get a PayPal account, which most of my friends have never heard of. Also, the idea of sending a gift card through email seems very tacky to me. But then again, I may not be your target audience.
GiftRocket is a new take on gift cards. Recipients prefer cash to gift cards, but it's tacky to give cash as a gift. We're trying to capture the sentiment of a gift card (I thought of you, I thought you'd enjoy this place) without the restrictiveness of a traditional gift card.
Also I may be wrong, but 99.9% of physical stores don't accept Paypal, so your friend would already have to have the gift amount in cash or credit/debit.