Merchants are accustomed to feeling the pressure during the holiday season. The “most wonderful time of the year” is also filled with logistics challenges, long days, and the pressure to maximize revenue during the busiest time of the year. The good news is that gift cards provide an easy and effective way for restaurants and retailers to increase holiday sales. According to studies from last year’s holiday season, businesses saw a strong double-digit increase in gift card sales during the 2021 holiday season.
As retailers plan and budget for 2022, gift card programs can have a big impact on success. To alleviate merchants’ holiday stress, we wanted to provide a simple reminder for businesses to start preparing now and equip you with resources to help increase gift card sales this year.
3 Reasons You Should Start Thinking About Your Holiday Gift Card Strategy Now
Here are three specific reasons now is the best time to start thinking about your holiday gift card strategy:
You can design a seamless gift card purchasing process for customers.
Making it easy and seamless for your customers to purchase gift cards is critical. How easy is it for people to find gift cards on your website? Is your gift card page branded with your logo? What is the customer’s journey from the moment they decide to purchase a gift card to the day they actually use it? These are all important questions to consider. But when the hustle and bustle of the holiday season is upon you, it’s difficult to find time to optimize your processes and systems. By starting early, you’ll be able to design the ideal gift card experience with the customer in mind.
You have plenty of time to develop a creative and effective promotional strategy.
The key to exponential success with gift cards comes down to how effectively you promote them. By starting to plan for your holiday gift card promotions early, you give you and your team plenty of time to build marketing strategies and plan out how you want to promote your gift card options. Whether it’s on your website or social media pages, in the store, at the checkout counter, or on an employee uniform, it’s important to make your gift cards the center of attention!
You can avoid any issues related to shipping delays or shortages.
Shipping delays or shortages can always be a possibility. When that’s compounded by a workforce shortage, fewer labor hours may be available to keep orders fulfilled.
Because of these delays and shortages, gift card companies like Card Market are urging customers to place their orders as soon as possible to ensure that they have their gift cards in time for holiday sales. It’s essential to consider having your gift cards ready for promotions starting at or before Black Friday and through Christmas.
3 Resources to Increase Gift Card Sales this Holiday Season
Ready to take your holiday gift card sale to the next level? Here are a few specific ideas and resources to help:
1. Define how you can “surprise and delight” customers with your holiday gift cards.
Finding creative ways to stand out from the crowd is key to selling gift cards. One way to sell more gift cards is to understand what drives consumers to make a purchase. According to gift card research, 58% of consumers say that gift card promotions will motivate them to buy more gift cards during the holiday season. Consider adding a bonus amount to gift cards or include an additional gift when a gift card is purchased.
2. Develop a comprehensive strategy to promote your gift cards.
At Card Market, we don’t just care about supplying your merchants with print and digital gift cards. We care about helping them generate more revenue. That’s why we created The Last Gift Card Marketing Guide You’ll Ever Need. In it, your merchants will find the best practices and tips we use to help our customers sell more gift cards each year.
3. Diversify your gift card options.
One way to sell additional gift cards during the holiday season is to implement creative ideas for what you offer. For example, you can offer your loyal customers a special reloadable gift card they can use to generate special rewards. You could also create gift cards for specific products or services that give people ideas for how to gift or use a gift card.
Ready to Get Started?
Gift cards and related promotions can dramatically increase your revenue during the holidays and well into the following year. You do not want your business to miss out on potential revenue, so your team must be proactive in ordering enough gift cards to last through the end of the year.
At Card Market, we don’t want the holidays to catch you by surprise. Don’t hesitate to reach out today to start planning your gift card marketing approach. Our team is here for you to help make this holiday season one to remember!