Why It\’s A Great Time To Promote Gift Cards

Here we are – just a bit passed the halfway point of September. It’s an interesting time of year. School has been in for a couple of weeks now. The air is starting to feel a little chillier. Summer is officially over and the beginning of fall takes place this coming weekend. Before you know it, the holiday season will be here! And that’s why this time of year is a great time to promote your store’s gift cards.

Make no mistake about it. In the months to come, retailers all over Canada will experience their busiest season. The holiday shopping season – which some people begin as early as October – is one when gift cards fly off the shelves in most stores. That’s no reason, however, to sit back and relax. It’s important that you begin promoting your gift cards well in advance of the holiday shopping rush.

Offer gift boxes.

“You know what stores don’t do anymore?” one of our colleagues angrily exclaimed during last year’s holiday shopping rush, “Gift boxes! They used to make it so easy for me when I was shopping for gifts. Now, I have to find boxes on my own when I’m wrapping gifts. It’s a drag!” Our suggestion: offer boxes to put your gift cards in. They make the entire process of wrapping and presenting holiday gifts so much easier for your customers. They’ll love you for it!

“Your packaging should reflect your brand, as well as the experience your clients can expect to have with you,” insists Madeline Maguire on Shortcuts.net, “A beautiful card backer or box can transform the experience for the giver and recipient. Having samples of these arranged at the front will help your clients imagine giving them to their loved ones!”

Give away gift cards to gift card purchasers.

You know what they say about the holidays – ‘tis the season to be giving. Get in on the gift-giving action yourself by gifting shoppers who purchase gift cards from you. This act has a lot more to do with securing long-term customer loyalty than it does getting those gift cards to fly off your shelves.

“Consider sweetening the deal by offering a gift for the person buying the gift card,” suggests SquareUp.com, “For example, ‘Buy a $50 gift card and get a candle for yourself.’ Or offer a discount for the gift card, such as selling a $100 gift card for $80.”

Create bundle packages.

The process of boosting your gift card sales will be made much easier when you find ways to sell gift cards to shoppers who have no intention of buying gift cards. How do you do that? Bundle your gift cards with specially-selected items in your store! They will add value to each purchase and give your shoppers added incentives to buy. You can never go wrong with adding a gift card to an already-awesome present.

“Bundling a gift card in with purchases over a certain value is a great way to incentivise product and treatment sales!” agrees Maguire, “This trick will help you maximise every sales opportunity through the season.”

Do you sell gift cards in your store?

Please don’t hesitate to give Canadian POS a call at 1-877-748-2884. You may also email us at info@localhost to ask about how you can take advantage of our electronic gift cards!