If there’s such thing as the “perfect” time of year to consider selling gift cards to your customers, that would be THIS time of year! The holiday shopping season brings out more customers than at any other time on the calendar. And obviously, the majority of them are out there looking for holiday gifts. The thing is, shopping can be hard. With so many people to buy for, it stands to reason that you may not always know what to buy each of them.
This is especially true when it comes to clothing. What size to buy? What colour is best? Who knows, right? This is why gift cards make such perfect gifts. While some consider them impersonal and even thoughtless, the vast majority of gift card recipients love them. “They’re perfect as far as I’m concerned,” commented one of our colleagues recently, “When I get a gift card, I know that I’m going to end up buying exactly what I want.”
Because recipients are able to purchase exactly what they want, it helps to significantly decrease the number of returns you may see in the new year. But, of course, you don’t have to take our word for it. MoreBusiness.com thinks gifts cards are great too. “Consumers love gift cards,” reads the website, “They offer a way to receive a personalized gift without having to take it back for an exchange.” It goes on to offer four reasons to consider selling gift cards.
1. More Profit on Your Bottom Line. It’s all about increasing your sales. And there’s no better time to do that than during the busy holiday shopping rush that comes with this time of year. “Stores that use retail gift cards are more likely to see better sales results,” says MoreBusiness.com, “A 2004 survey performed by the market research firm, First Data, showed that 82 percent of small to mid-sized businesses who use retail gift cards experienced increased sales.”
2. Return Customers – Not Returned Merchandise. As we mentioned earlier, you stand a great chance of significantly decreasing your returns when you sell gift cards. You also increase your opportunities of welcoming new customers into your store to use those gift cards that they received. According to the website, “receivers of gift cards for business are more likely to shop at your store, even if they never have in the past.”
3. Don\’t Worry of Selling Out of Stock. “Display your retail gift card near popular items,” MoreBusiness.com advises, “If your inventory goes out of stock before the end of the holiday sales season, your customers are more likely to buy a gift card in lieu of the item they wanted.” Gift cards make the perfect replacements. In many cases, customers may enter your store looking for a particular item that is sold out. A gift card will ensure that that item can be purchased in future.
4. Interest Income from Unredeemed Balances. As the website points out, “another benefit your company can experience from retail gift cards is additional interest income. When a shopper buys a gift card, you have the cash in hand. Even though that money is unearned until it is redeemed, you can still deposit it in an interest bearing account and collect the interest. This is a great way to leverage the power of cash to add more profit to your business.”
Order your gift cards from Canadian POS Corporation today! You certainly don’t want to wait any longer to begin offering your customers this great option. With the holiday shopping season here, you will have more chances to sell these much sought-after cards than at any other time of the year. The popularity of gift cards can’t be understated. They are practical and sensible choices no matter the business type. Call us at 1-877-748-2884!