Whether it's a gift card from Target or a gift card from Red Lobster, we are willing to bet that you have a gift card laying around your house or perhaps in your wallet. Gift cards make convenient gifts and ease the burden of shopping while providing the recipient with joy. When shopping for gift cards you are likely to be presented with a myriad of cards from Home Depot to Sephora - Starbucks to Old Navy and of course you can buy Visa, MasterCard, and American Express gift cards as well. While this offers great convenience for consumers, gift cards are a powerful marketing tool for growing your business and fostering loyalty.
You might think that a logo'd gift card program is only available to big companies. That's no longer true. Small independent businesses can affordably implement your very own gift card program that comes with benefits much bigger than consumers enjoy. Consumers presented with a gift card, or the original purchaser of the gift card can re-load the card with additional funds and check their balance online. You accept gift cards the same way you accept a credit card for payment.
How Does it Help?
Merchants use gift cards to promote their brand name and logo while increasing sales. Gift cards provide a way to grow your profits rapidly. About $3 billion in gift card dollars will go unredeemed this year. That's $3 billion dollars collected by merchants for the sale of the gift cards to purchasers that is left in the pockets of merchants. About 6% of all gift cards sold are never redeemed. More importantly adding gift cards as a marketing tool can engage your customers and build loyalty. As online shopping and eCommerce continue to reshape the retail industry, the popularity of gift card programs has grown proportionally. Retailers who implement a gift card program experience a shopping frequency increase of about 69%. 85% of shoppers surveyed reported that having a gift card in a digital wallet made their shopping experience faster and more convenient. No matter what size your business is, a gift card program is easy and affordable to implement. Here are some other benefits to consider:
Build Brand Awareness
Gift cards represent extremely cost-effective advertising that keeps your business at the top of the mind of customers and potential customers. Traditional plastic cards are virtually a wallet-sized billboard advertisement except they cost much less than a billboard.
Capture More Holiday Sales
Holiday sales rushes aren’t just for big box stores anymore. With a high emphasis on "Shop Local", gift cards allow all types of businesses to catch the holiday spirit from their community. From limo rides to car wash subscriptions, jewelry and salons, gift card programs can make the holidays brighter for merchants and consumers alike.
Digital Cards
In this modern era of electronics, merchants can also implement digital gift cards. A digital gift card is basically a unique numbered electronic card. The digital card number is entered to make payments for purchases. Using digital gift cards creates a custom-branded gift card that offers your customers the convenience of same-day sending by email. Either type gift card is accepted via your eCommerce payment gateway.
Gaining Customer Data
Gift cards create opportunities to better understand your customers. By learning information about them, you can serve them more effectively. Gift cards can help you collect vital data about shopping trends, likes and interests that help target marketing messages specifically to the gift card holder and/or the original purchaser. The cards can be linked to online registrations, allowing your customers to tailor their communications from you to meet their wants and needs, and that translates to more sales for you!
Explore Our Gift Card Programs
We can implement a gift card program for companies of all sizes. We will help you grow your businesses by extending your exposure to a wider audience, drive more sales and incentivize repeat business. Want to learn more? Let's work together to implement your gift card program. Give us a call at (833) 287-6722 or email us at contact@risewithaurora.com
