Marks & Spencer has signed up to a ‘social treating’ app that allows people to send low-cost gifts to friends and family.

Users of the Givvit app are able to buy M&S flowers, chocolates, biscuits, meal deals and beauty products worth under £15 and send a voucher code for them to loved ones via the app.

Recipients can be sent the voucher code via text or email and are required to download the Givvit app in order to redeem the code.

Givvit chief executive and co-founder James Cullen said:  “With social media now being a way of life and digital gestures being commonplace, it is fair to say that certain good wishes are becoming less and less meaningful.

“In this digital age, it is important that real world gestures aren’t lost as they are often the most powerful and tend to garner the strongest emotional reaction.”

Other partners to have signed up to Givvit so far include Caffè Nero, Pizza Express and Picturehouse Cinemas.

Research by Givvit found that text messages were the most popular method to express good wishes as 54% of respondents opted for this method.

Around 50% of those surveyed phone friends when exchanging good wishes, while 42% choose to use email and 26% send a Facebook message.