Valutec - Is your gift card program ready for the holidays? - ARTICLE

Gift cards are one of the most versatile and desired holiday gifts your customers can give and, because gift cards are so widely accepted, they work across any industry or business. With 28% of surveyed ¹ consumers starting their holiday shopping earlier this year (and many pointing to the pandemic as the reason for earlier shopping) now is the time to make sure your gift card program is ready to go.

Design eye-catching themes

Using themed designs—holiday, seasonal and others that stand out—will increase customer interest in your gift card program and help drive sales. Get your designs to your card provider now since the holidays see longer wait times for production. Most customers start holiday shopping in November and you want to be ready for them so you don’t lose valuable revenue.

Order early and order extra

You don’t want to run out of gift cards right before the holidays end. It’s better to have too many cards, than not enough. Don’t make the mistake of only ordering enough to get you through the season, or you may miss out on last-minute shoppers looking to snag those gift cards. More than half of consumers (52%) report ² that they are more likely to buy more gift cards this holiday season than in previous years. Give them enough choices to keep them in your store or on your website.

Don’t forget to promote your cards!

Want to drive more traffic to your store or website? Promote gift cards on social media or through an email campaign. Once you have customers in the door, think strategically about where to place your card display stands. Choose a high-traffic location that is central inside your store and easy for customers to find. Make sure your displays are engaging and consider setting up multiple display sections in high-traffic areas throughout the store.And don’t forget about your online shoppers. Digital gift cards are the fastest growing segment ² within the $127 billion gift card industry. Digital cards can help with last minute holiday shopping and allow your business to sell gift cards 24/7 from your website. You never have to miss another sale! With growing demand for digital gift cards, especially around the holidays, you should have a strategy in place to meet your customers’ needs and how they want to shop and pay.

Get ready to boost sales

In order to be prepared for your customers' holiday demands, you need to act now. Decide on your designs, get your order in early and be sure to secure extra inventory. Being prepared for the busy holiday season helps your customers get the gift cards they need to check friends and family gifts off of their holiday to-do list. A fresh and highly promoted gift card program can help you drive growth that propels your business into the future.

Need help getting started with a gift card program? Call us at 800.509.0625 or visit us at valuteccardsolutions.com to learn more.

_{1 : First Data 2018 US Consumer Study. 2 : 2020 BrandedPay Holiday Shopping Preview Report.}