Gift cards are a boon for retailers and customers alike. Retailers who offer exclusive gift cards know about the kind of impact that they can have on your bottom line. From helping with brand awareness to acting as an extra sales channel for your organization, gift cards have innumerable benefits. Shopify stores should make it a point to include gift cards in their offering.

In this article, we look at why you must have a gift card strategy and how you can boost sales and customer loyalty using them.

Why should gift cards be a must-have component in your Shopify store?

• You can bring in a lot more traffic to your store with gift cards since there will be customers actively searching for them
• Digital gift cards are incredibly convenient as you don’t have to carry them in your person, and can even be purchased for loved ones within the comfort of your home
• Since gift cards are usually bought for someone else, you get to bring in a new set of customers to your store. They might not even be a part of your target audience
• Gift cards can also be used to settle disputes. A disgruntled customer can be appeased with a gift card
  The remaining balance on the gift card prods the customers to come back to your store. This is another opportunity to impress them
• It is great for the holiday season, and also for non-seasonal events like marriages, birthdays, etc
  They help you collect valuable data about your customers’ spending patterns, triggers, categories, etc

Strategies to boost sales and increase customer loyalty using gift cards:

1. Customized gift cards:

One of the easiest ways to stand out with your gift cards is by customizing them. The customizations are only limited by your imagination. You could create a series for Christmas, one for your store’s 10-year anniversary, or one for a local festival. Make sure that the customizations you add are relevant to your target audience. The last thing you want are customers trying to figure out what your gift cards say. 99minds offers a number of customizable templates to make it easy for Shopify business owners.

2. Choose the right gift card app:

You want to work with a gift card solution that aligns with your budget, offers the right features, and has good reviews. It should allow easy customization options, have secure payment processing, offers analytics, comprehensive reporting, etc. Make sure that the gift card software is compatible with your existing Shopify store. The process of integration into your store should be a seamless affair.



3. Incentivize customers:

Come up with unique promotions or campaigns around gift cards. Customers who purchase gift cards can receive an additional discount or perk. The objective is to increase the sale of gift cards– as simple as that.

Below are some exciting incentive ideas:
• Invite customers to your loyalty program when they buy gift cards. It is a win-win since you get to convert an ordinary customer into an ambassador for your brand with the loyalty program
• Make the gift card design and copy so alluring that holding your brand’s gift card in their person gives them a sense of exclusivity
• Offer limited-time discounts on gift cards
• Consider donating a portion of your gift card sales to charity. Philanthropic gestures are well-accepted, especially among millennial and Gen Z customers

Create an incentive or rewards program where your customers get to redeem it as soon as possible. The program should be easy to understand and simple to be a part of. For higher order values, the rewards should be high too.

4. Use it as an alternative for refunds/exchanges/returns:

Retailers lose a third of their revenue, thanks to returns. Most returned or exchanged products don’t go back on sale either. The average customer wants their refund in cash. Instead of that, you can give it in the form of gift cards.


Below are a few ways to make getting gift cards instead of cash, appealing to your customer
• Add a small amount, let’s say $10, on top of the refund, to the gift card
• Incentivize your employees to push gift cards for returns
• If a customer isn’t sure about returning the product, offer them a perk or two to make them continue using it
• Add them to an exclusive club of customers, only if they get the refund in gift cards

If you intend to buy something for your loved ones, gift cards make your shopping experience smooth. Why? Because the final recipient is the one who gets to choose which product to buy using the gift card. This drastically reduces the returns and the hassles associated with it.

5. Consistent communication:

Regular communication is quintessential to make your customers aware of the value that gift cards bring. Communicate about your gift cards in the form of SMS campaigns, push notifications, in-app messages, emails, etc. Try to include details about gift cards in every communication, without coming across as too pushy.

6. Tie up with complementary businesses:

One of the easiest ways to bring in a new set of customers consistently is by collaborating using gift cards. How? Let’s say yours is a Shopify store that sells cosmetics for women, you can include the gift card of an online footwear store, and vice versa. You get their customers and they get yours. It is a win-win since both parties stand to gain from this arrangement.

If not an exclusive tie up like the above case, you can place your gift cards on their store in a pre-decided quid pro arrangement. This is one of the easiest ways to leverage customers of other brands who don’t compete with you directly.

Wrapping up:

There is no inkling of doubt about the efficacy of gift cards for your Shopify store. Its ROI is dependent on how effective your gift card strategy is. Adding gift cards into your marketing stack doesn’t require groundbreaking effort. There are platforms like 99minds which helps complete the setup process in minutes. The only time that you will need to invest would be in coming up with strategies to offer the right incentives for your gift cards.

With 99minds, you can create gift cards, coupons, send referrals, build loyalty programs, and offer location-based promotions for your customers. If you are looking for a way to increase engagement and retain more customers, a powerful solution like 99minds would be a rewarding partnership. We would be thrilled to set up a gift card program for your business.