When Christmas is beginning to come over the horizon, retailers should be implementing a gift card system into their business to reap the various benefits of the gift-giving season. The majority of gift cards sales occur during the Christmas period, which makes it an ideal time to promote and offer personalised festive gift cards for your retail business.
From personalising your gift cards designs to influence more conversions and analysing consumer behaviour to understand buyer preferences, a gift card system can bring an array of vital benefits to improve your company’s marketing strategies and sales revenue.
Improve cashflow
Consumer trends change during the Christmas season as people visit shops to buy presents. Offering gift cards is a great way to boost sales because they are an ideal alternative for last-minute shoppers and those struggling to find the perfect Christmas gift. You can also promote your gift cards ahead of Christmas to create an effective marketing strategy, as you can link it with seasonal sales offers such as Black Friday. It also means that you reduce the risk of losing potential customers to competitors.
When gift cards are used the consumer tends to spend more than the value of the gift card, increasing the amount spent in one purchase.
Did you know gift cards increase transactional spending by an average of 30%?
A key benefit of gift card systems is that once money is loaded onto the card, it is non-refundable and can only be redeemed at your retail store. For this reason, any value left unspent can be considered 100% profit. With most gift cards, there is no limit to the amount of money that can be placed on a gift card and they can be reloaded with more money – ideal for those looking for a savers card.
Gain invaluable information
Gift card systems are an invaluable asset to businesses as they can acquire information about the buyer such as shopping behaviours. This information can be utilised to generate targeted marketing campaigns and allow businesses to better understand consumer preferences.
For example, retailers can track when and how gift cards are being redeemed. Such information allows businesses to identify which products are in demand so they can influence higher sales and repeat the trends next season.
Once you’ve set up your gift card system you can pair your system with a loyalty scheme as a way to encourage customers to sign up to your email list. Sending company updates and promotional emails to your subscribers will encourage return visits.
Encourage brand awareness
As gift cards are often given as presents, most consumers like to have space to write a personalised message. Retailers can take advantage of this by stocking up on personalised Christmas gift card carriers and cards that have been customised with logos and other unique branding. Once the gift card has been given to the recipient, the design increases brand exposure, influences word of mouth marketing, and encourages new customers to visit the business.
Many gift card systems are compatible with bricks and mortar stores as well as online e-commerce websites. Retailers can create seasonal campaigns to promote their gift cards via various digital channels to advertise their brand and improve sales.
Offering festive gift cards during Christmas is a great way for small businesses to acquire new customers. Retailers won’t need to invest time and money attracting customers in the New Year, as the gift card giver does this for them.
Setting up a gift card system
Launching a gift card management system can be a simple process. Our gift card system is suitable for any size business looking for a simple and effective gift card management system. We also print personalised Christmas-themed gift cards and offer digital gift cards alongside your physical plastic gift cards. Our cards are compatible with your existing reward systems.
If you’d like to implement a gift card system, get in touch with a member of our expert team.
