People love to gift their loved ones in holiday season. However, what to gift is a big question that they find difficult to answer. A gift that is presentable, affordable, and suits the occasion.
Customers also face this gifting dilemma. However, you can turn it into a huge sales potential by making new customers while retaining the old ones at the same time. Gift cards can be an effective marketing tool if implemented properly. It makes customer’s life easier by freeing them from the hassle of choosing a gift card.
So what is a Gift Card?
A gift card or gift certificate is a pre-paid card issued by a particular store as an alternative to cash for purchases within the store. Stores often issue them for marketing and customers buy them for gifting purposes. The recipient can then redeem the card amount on purchases from the same store.
Gift Cards are a Cost-effective Marketing Tool
E-Commerce stores have been leveraging on gift cards as an effective marketing tool for years. The fact that gift cards are the most requested present during holidays speak volume of its sales potential. Gift cards were the most trending gift items in 2018 and no wonder why.
Gift cards increase brand equity among your loyal customer’s friends, family, and social circles. When a recipient gets a gift card from your store, they most likely are going to visit the store which also help you gain potential new customers. Gift cards are also a great way to improve the average order value. Customers often end up spending much more than the card offers them.
Having mentioned the benefits, gift cards can also leave a negative impression on your loyal and new customers if they are not likeable. Customers want to present only the best gift certificates to their loved ones which make their day more special.
How to Leverage on Gift Cards to Increase Sales?
As mentioned above, gift cards hold a huge sales potential. In order to make full use of it, it should be implemented with all the pre-requisites. Let’s take a brief look at the important things you should consider while offering gift cards in your e-store.
Personalization
Allow customers to personalize their gifting experience as much as possible. Everyone wants to present gifts according to their personal tastes and preferences. You can achieve personalization by allowing customers to upload a personalized gift card image, add a personal note, add an image, etc. For Magento 2 based E-Commerce stores, this Magento 2 Gift card extension offers excellent personalization features.
Easy & Instant Sending Options
There are two ways to receive a gift card.
Customer buys gift card and the recipient receives email.
Customer buys gift card, he/she receives email and then sends it to the recipient.
Your store should offer easy & instant gift card sending options. You may want to allow customers to send them via Email, post or a personal message. The above extension offers all these 3 sending options.
Promote Gift Cards
Promote your gift cards to attract more customers to buy them. You can use multiple communication channels, preferably social media to reach out to your potential customers. No idea or product, no matter how useful, can be successful unless marketed effectively.
Offer Discounts on Gift Cards
Since gift cards are trending items in holiday seasons, you can double the sales by offering deals and discounts. For example, you can do a promotion to offer a $25 gift card for $20, a $50 gift card for $40 or two $30 gift cards for $50. The Magento 2 gift card extension by FMEextensions recognizes this and so allows merchants to offer discounts in the following 3 different modes.
- Customers pay the same amount as gift card.
- Customers pay a fixed discounted amount.
- Customers pay only a percentage of the gift card value.