The Benefits of Selling Christmas Gift Cards for Your Store
For years now, gift cards have been the most in-demand item for Christmas shoppers, with 59% of shoppers placing them at the top of their lists. With this in mind, your store is missing out on valuable profit if it's not selling holiday gift cards. And even aside from increasing profits, selling gift cards carries many other benefits. Let’s look at a few of them.
Boost Brand Awareness
Gift cards are the perfect marketing tool. They're one of the only pieces of advertising collateral that carry a cash value. Consumers cannot ignore gift cards like they do social media ads or direct mail flyers.
When someone receives a gift card, they will be introduced to your store and feel obligated to spend their card. A 2017 survey found that 44% of shoppers say that they will visit a store for the first time after receiving a gift card.
Higher spending
Not only are you making money on the original purchase from the gift giver, but the gift card could bring in extra profit from the recipient as well. A survey of American shoppers by First Data found that shoppers spend $59 more than the value of their gift cards.
In the same way, you can increase your revenue by selling holiday gift cards through strategic promotions. For example, giving a gift card to all shoppers who spend over £50 can increase the overall basket value of your shoppers. They will want to receive the free gift card, which means they will spend more and eventually return again.
Protect your business and shoppers
ACI Worldwide reports that fraudulent spending attempts are higher during Q4 than in other months. Shoppers use stolen credit and debit cards to purchase goods, resulting in chargebacks and lost revenue from the stolen inventory. By selling Christmas gift cards, you encourage shoppers to use a safe payment method.
At the same time, digital gift cards give customers peace of mind. Unlike physical gift cards that can be lost, these digital options are kept safe online for easy access at any time.
Simplify checkout
Long checkout lines can discourage shoppers from finishing their transactions or visiting your store again. Why would a customer want to wait in your shop when they can order online?
Counting cash and making change takes only a few seconds, but those add up quickly on high volume days. If your store runs out of change, then customers will need to wait as your balance bills and coins between tills.
With the Epos Now retail POS system, paying with gift cards couldn’t be easier. Staff can quickly process payments with a built-in gift card integration, lowering wait times, and improving customer experience.
Increase repeat purchases
The previously mentioned First Data survey found that 53% of consumers will visit a store more often if they have a gift card. If your team offers exceptional customer service and masters suggestive selling, they can further encourage repeat visits.
Research by Bain found that if you can increase customer retention by 5%, profitability can increase by 95%. Even better, customers spend 67% more after their first visit.
By capturing initial sales with gifts, you can set customers on a track that boosts loyalty and profits.
Ready to sell holiday gift cards?
The Epos Now point of sale system easily connects with gift card integrations that can be operated directly from your till. Speak with a consultant today to learn more about Epos Now and our gift card options.