Christmas is my dad’s favorite time of the year for several reasons. One of those reasons is gift certificates. He is notoriously hard to shop for so 9 times out of 10 we get him gift certificates. It doesn’t matter if they are open loop (cards that can be used anywhere similar to a credit card) or closed loop (have to be used at specific brick and mortar locations); the man loves his gift certificates.
He is not alone. According to the National Retail Federation, 77% of retailers sold gift certificates during the last holiday season. That translates to $23.6 billion dollars in sales. Consumers like the 24/7 availability of merchandise and the ability to purchase a last minute gift. Businesses too are reaping those rewards. To the tune of:
A 16 to 20 percent increase in sales Established customer retention Simple incentive and promotion campaigns account for nearly a quarter of their annual revenue There are many ways take advantage of this hot, rapidly growing form of brand-currency. It all starts with the right partnership, and Plastic Printers is here to help you claim your piece of the gift card pie. In fact, we’ve put a list of 5 tips together to help you boost your gift card sales.
The Booster Pack: 5 Tips to Help your Gift Card Sales Skyrocket
Tip One: Start from the ground up. For a gift certificate campaign to be successful, it needs to be everywhere, on every part of your business presence. This not only includes brick and mortar signage, cash registers and answering machines, but also:
Anything you use to promote your business needs to have a gift card offer on it. Here’s the tricky part, it needs to be consistent: the same information, everywhere, every time. Not sure what to say or how to say it? That’s why we recommend starting from the ground up. Plastic Printers can help you design, draft, and print your offer on every plastic card medium available. Then all you have to do is duplicate the message for in-store and online use.
Tip Two: Create gift cards at different price points. The National Retail Federation estimates the average value of a gift card purchase at $40.00. That estimate comes with a caveat: be prepared. For some industries like health and beauty, $40.00 gift cards are the tip of the iceberg; at others a $25.00 gift card is enough for a nice meal. The moral of this story: offer an industry–appropriate range of gift card values with a purchase incentive for the customer.
The best part is you don’t have to worry about producing the different cards. Whether it’s a gift certificate for $25.00 or $150.00; Plastic Printers can store your design template and help you generate cards for various monetary values.
Tip Three: Offer package deals. This tip is especially effective in service oriented industries. Spas and salons can customize “off-menu” specials and combine them with customer favorites. This brings in new clientele while keeping the current clientele satisfied with familiar deals and steals. This strategy drives up your sales because customers typically spend 20% over the value of their gift card (Purdue Retail Institute).
There is one catch; each package deal has to have a signature appeal. This is where a partnership with Plastic Printers comes in handy. They can create several design variations for your gift cards. These variations would give the recipient an indication of the package they’re getting without stepping away from your brand.
Tip Four: Target the corporate gift market. When it comes to gift cards and promotional items, this is the biggest fish in the sales sea. Companies are always looking for gift certificates; they are universal gifts you can buy in bulk. These employee-friendly crowd pleasers should come with branding attached. Where does this branding start? At Plastic Printers, of course. We can help you design a logo for your print work that is easily transferable to other promotional items. This will get your brand noticed and bring in business. 
Tip Five: Take part in a collaborative promotional campaign. Plastic Printers loves to hear from satisfied customers. We’ll put your testimonial or design template on our website to help promote your business. All we ask in return is that you tell others about the fantastic service and stellar products you received from us.
If you've made it this far and think you've missed an opportunity; don’t worry. According to the Purdue Retail Institute, 40% of customers wait to use their gift cards until after the holidays. There’s enough time to cash in on this year’s spoils and prepare for next year’s holiday rush simultaneously.
The first step is to contact Plastic Printers through the website: www.plasticprinters.com. We can help you with tips and design concepts, projects quotes, and get you started on the road to your promotional future. So take that first step and contact us today!
