Gift Card Promotions: Benefits & Ideas to Promote Gift Cards

Gift card promotions are a beacon of potential for businesses in the rapidly changing retail industry. They offer an excellent opportunity to boost revenue, enhance customer engagement, and create brand loyalty.

According to Global Newswire, the US gift card market grew at a phenomenal compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 29.1% between 2015 and 2019.

Gift cards offer convenience for both gift givers and recipients, allowing the giver to choose the perfect gift while ensuring the recipient gets what they really want. Businesses can use gift card promotions to demonstrate their commitment to satisfying customers and create additional revenue streams. This approach can help businesses succeed in a competitive market and elevate their company to new levels of success.

In this article, we’ll examine the benefits and techniques of gift card promotions, and consider how these adaptable tools could boost your company to new heights of success.

What is a Gift Card?

A gift card is a prepaid stored-value money card that can be used to purchase goods and services at specific stores and businesses. Gift cards come in various forms, including physical cards and digital codes, and are often branded with the logo of the retailer or business where they can be used.

What is a Gift Card Promotions?

A gift card promotion is a marketing strategy where businesses offer incentives or bonuses to customers who purchase gift cards. These promotions can take various forms, such as discounts, bonus gift cards, or extra value added to the purchased gift card. The goal is to encourage customers to buy gift cards, which generates immediate revenue for the business and often leads to future sales when the recipients redeem the cards.

Benefits of Gift Card Promotions

Gift cards have revolutionized the way we shop and gifts. They offer a convenient alternative to traditional cash and physical gifts. Here’s how your business can make the most of this modern gifting solution:

1. Increase Your Sales: Gift cards serve as an effective tool to boost sales within your business. When customers purchase gift cards, they often spend more than the card's value when redeeming it. This tendency to overspend can result in a significant increase in revenue and higher sales figures for your business.

   By enticing customers to purchase gift cards, you create an opportunity to capitalize on their additional spending, ultimately driving growth and profitability.

2. Reward Loyal Customers: Utilizing gift cards as rewards for loyal customers can foster stronger relationships and encourage repeat business. Incorporating gift cards into loyalty programs or offering them as special promotions incentivizes customers to remain engaged with your brand. Loyal customers who receive gift cards may feel appreciated and valued, which can enhance their loyalty and likelihood of continuing to patronize your business.

   Furthermore, satisfied customers are likely to share positive experiences with others, leading to word-of-mouth referrals and new customer acquisition. You can create a loyalty program for rewarding customers with gift cards.

3. Reduce Returns: Gift card transactions can help mitigate the risk of product returns, ultimately saving your business time and money. Unlike cash or credit card purchases, customers tend to be more deliberate and thoughtful when using gift cards, resulting in fewer impulse buys and fewer regrettable purchases.

   As a result, the likelihood of returns decreases, along with associated costs such as restocking fees and processing expenses. Embracing gift cards as a payment option contributes to a more efficient and cost-effective retail operation.

4. Enhance Cash Flow: Selling gift cards is a great way to get quick cash flow into your business. When customers purchase gift cards, they pay upfront for future goods or services, which provides your business with capital. This cash can be particularly useful during slow sales periods or when you have significant expenses such as inventory replenishment or equipment upgrades.

   By using gift card sales to boost your cash reserves, you can better manage fluctuations in revenue and maintain financial stability.

5. Expand Retail Channels: Gift cards present a versatile retail opportunity that can be leveraged in-store and online. By offering gift cards through multiple channels, you can reach a broader audience and diversify your sales avenues. In addition to traditional physical gift cards sold in-store, digital gift cards can be conveniently purchased and sent online. This increased accessibility enhances customer convenience and opens up new sales opportunities, allowing your business to tap into a larger market and drive growth.

How to Set Up Gift Card Promotions

Setting up gift card promotions can be an effective way to increase sales, attract new customers, and retain existing ones. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you set up a successful gift card promotions:

1. Define Objectives: Before launching your gift card promotions, it’s crucial to clearly define your objectives. This involves identifying the goals you want to achieve with the promotion, whether it's increasing sales, attracting new customers, or rewarding loyal ones. Understanding your target audience is also essential in crafting effective promotional strategies that resonate with them.
2. Design Gift Cards: Designing appealing and brand-representative gift cards is key to attracting customers' attention and encouraging them to purchase. Whether you choose physical or digital formats, ensure the design reflects your brand identity with elements like your logo, brand colors, and a visually appealing layout. Customizing the design to match the theme of the promotion or the upcoming holiday season can further enhance its appeal.
3. Choose Gift Card Promotion Strategy: Selecting the right strategy of promotion is important for its success. You might offer discounted gift cards, where customers can purchase a gift card at a reduced price, or bonus gift cards, where they receive additional value for their purchase. Double value days, bundled offers, and other creative promotions can also be effective in driving sales and engagement.
4. Set Terms and Conditions: Clearly outlining the terms and conditions of the gift card campaign helps to manage customer expectations and avoid misunderstandings. Specify expiration dates, any usage restrictions (for example, not valid on sale items), and the redemption process. Providing transparency and clarity in these words can help to create a positive customer experience.
5. Plan Promotion Timeline: Planning the timeline of your promotion is essential for its success. Determine the launch date, duration of the promotion, and any key dates or events you want to align it with, such as holidays or special sales events. A well-thought-out timeline ensures that your promotion reaches the right audience at the right time, maximizing its impact and effectiveness.

Gift Card Promotion Ideas You Can Use

Gift cards have evolved into an essential element of modern retail and e-commerce. They don’t just simplify the gifting process; they are also powerful tools for enhancing customer engagement and encouraging repeat business. Let’s explore some innovative methods to maximize the potential of gift cards and strengthen your relationship with your customers.

1. Loyalty Program Integration

   Integrating gift card promotions into your loyalty program can boost repeat purchases. Offer rewards or points for buying gift cards, and give bonus points for using those gift cards for purchases. This approach encourages customers to purchase and use gift cards, incentivizing them to return to your business.

   Rewarding loyal customers with gift cards makes them feel special and increases brand loyalty. Ultimately, this strategy can drive sales and enhance customer engagement. You can create a robust loyalty program for your ecommerce store with 99minds



2. Referral Rewards

   Implementing a referral rewards program, where existing customers are incentivized to refer friends and family through rewards such as discounts or free gift cards, effectively leverages word-of-mouth marketing. Offering rewards such as discounts or free gift cards not only encourages customers to refer others, but it also improves their relationship with the company.

   This strategy broadens the customer base by focusing on trusted referrals. Implementing this type of program is made easier by platforms like 99minds, which simplify the process and ensure awards are monitored and given correctly.



3. Social Media Giveaway

   A social media giveaway is a contest hosted on social media platforms in which participants can win prizes, such as gift cards, by completing specific actions. These actions, which help create buzz, boost brand visibility, and attract in new followers, frequently involve liking a post, sharing it, and tagging others.

   For example, Sephora frequently runs Instagram campaigns in which users must follow their account, like a post, then tag friends in the comments to win a $100 gift card. These offers generate excitement, increase brand visibility, and attract new followers while doing gift card promotions.



4. Make Gift Cards Omnipresent

   One effective way to ensure that everyone is aware of your company’s gift cards is to publicly display them so clients can see them. In addition to creating a dedicated webpage, make sure that customers are informed about the gift cards across all communication channels.

   You can promote them through email marketing, in-app messages, kiosks, and on the homepage. It’s also a good idea to casually mention the gift cards in any correspondence with customers. Don’t hesitate to emphasize their importance; there’s no reason to be reluctant.

5. Come Up With Interesting Designs

   Your gift cards can be an incredible marketing asset. It works like magic, especially if you offer physical gift cards. How? By creating gift card designs that stand out. The gift cards should be personalized and create an impression at first glance.

   Here are a few ways you can create interesting designs:

   • Add as many brand identity elements as possible. Choose colors that reflect what your brand stands for.
   • Customizing gift cards for each season is a strategy you must implement, as it can help attract more customers during the holidays.
   • Luxurious packaging is another way to pique customers' curiosity.
   • The design should be so good that it should make potential customers who don't have it crave it. Imagine if you could create a gift card design so iconic that people want to have it for themselves. That's what you should strive for.
   • Some visual humor is also great for capturing the attention of your target audience.

6. Cross Promotion Perks

   Collaborating with other businesses to offer joint promotions can be an effective strategy. For example, a clothing store and a local café can partner up to offer customers a discount at the café when they buy a certain amount in gift cards at the clothing store and vice versa.

   This mutually beneficial partnership enhances the value customers receive and extends the reach of both businesses as they gain access to each other’s customer base.

7. VIP Customer Exclusives

   Rewarding loyal customers with exclusive benefits fosters a sense of loyalty and encourages repeat purchases. By offering VIP customers special promotions or discounts on gift cards, you make them feel valued and more likely to engage with your company.

   99minds allows merchants to create VIP tiers such as Silver, Gold, and Platinum each providing exclusive benefits like higher discounts, early access to new products, and personalized offers. This ensures that customers experience recognition and appreciation on all fronts.

8. Include Special Offers For Your Gift Cards

   Gift cards are an attractive proposition for customers. But it would help if you upped the ante by making it irresistible for them. You can sell more gift cards and increase customer engagement by giving them the right offers.

   Here are a few ways to make gift cards more special than it already is:

   • When the gift card's value crosses a particular threshold, offer extra value to it. For example, if a customer purchases a gift card for $100, add $10 to the same card or a different one that the one who buys it gets. Offer gift cards on discounts to increase the usage of gift cards.
   • Instead of discounts on products, offer the discount value as gift cards.
   • Customers who purchase from you on special days such as festivals can be given a free gift card with a reasonable amount added to it.
   • Use gift cards to appease disgruntled customers. By doing so, you will get one more chance to offer them an excellent experience.

9. Use Multiple Marketing Channels

   Extend your marketing outreach over multiple channels to get the most visibility and interaction. Here’s an overview of the various channels and strategies you can use.

   • Social Media: Promote gift cards across social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat. Use Facebook for updates, testimonials, and targeted ads. On Instagram, leverage stories, influencer partnerships, and the Instagram Shop.

     Snapchat is great for engaging snaps, targeted ads, and live Q&A sessions. Organize giveaways to boost engagement, collaborating with other brands for wider reach.

   • Email Marketing: Send newsletters featuring gift card promotions and segment email lists for tailored messages. Personalize content to increase engagement, emphasizing gift card convenience and benefits.

     Use clear calls to action to encourage purchases and follow-up emails to remind customers of offers. Automation can help nurture leads into buyers with well-timed messages.

10. Exclusive Gift Card Discounts

    Offering special discounts or bonus value on gift card purchases for a limited time can create a sense of urgency and drive immediate sales. Customers are more likely to purchase gift cards if they perceive them as offering added value or savings. Promoting these exclusive discounts through various marketing channels can enhance their appeal and encourage engagement.

    For example, Target’s 10% off gift card promotions incentivize customers to buy gift cards by providing immediate savings. This limited-time offer encourages quick action, leveraging the sense of urgency to boost sales during the holiday season.

    

    Another example is Starbucks’ Bonus Load Promotion. Starbucks occasionally offers a bonus amount, such as an additional $5, for every $25 loaded onto a gift card during a limited-time offer. This added value drives immediate sales and increases future visits.

Wrapping up

Gift cards are game-changers for retailers. eCommerce and brick-and-mortar retailers who get their gift card strategy right will see a lot of ROI. Give your audience a gift card with fantastic offers and a design experience that makes them proud and excited to have it for themselves or give it away as gifts to loved ones.

If you are looking to arm your store with gift cards, the 99minds team would be thrilled to help you with us. Get in touch with us and we will help you through the process of setting up gift cards for your business. Embrace gift cards to increase consumer loyalty and, more significantly, improve your revenue line.

Frequently Ask Questions (FAQs)