Gift cards are more important than ever this year – with normal Christmas travel and family gatherings impacted by Covid nationwide – offering customers a safe, easily accessible and hassle-free way to share the love.
Already a high growth area, the gift card market in Australia recorded a CAGR of 15.9% during 2015-2019 and is expected to record a CAGR of 10.8% during 2020-2024 – reaching US $6,698.6 million by 2024.
Gift cards can also help boost foot traffic into the new year, as the recipients start heading into stores to spend their Christmas gifts.
Here are top three tips on gift cards:
1. Remind customers gift cards are available
With the intensity of the retail period in November and December, we know that customers and staff will be run off their feet. Ensuring your gift cards are visible and accessible in store can prevent potential missed opportunities. Aside from placing them on counters, think about cross promoting the gift cards with relevant items for convenience and gift inspiration – whether it be alongside cards and wrapping, other stocking fillers or in a ready made bundle – there are plenty of options to remind customers that gift cards are available.
Remind staff of gift card offerings so they can share with customers. Your email, website and social media channels are also great places to promote availability.
Our hair and beauty industry association HBIA this Christmas season is supporting the pamper gift card – a card for the industry by the industry. Read more here.
2. Think about loyalty and encouraging repeat purchases
A handful of retailers offer gift card promotions during the holiday period as a way to increase loyalty with current customers and encourage new ones into your business. An example of this we have seen recently is beauty therapists and hair salons offering a bonus gift card for the purchaser when they are buying a gift for someone else. For retailers, offering a bonus $10 gift card to customers who purchase $100 in gift cards (for example) will leave any shopper feeling extra special.
3. Team up with other retailers
In the same vein as thinking about where to place your gift cards in tip number one, another tactic is to team up with complementary retailers and businesses to get your gift cards on their shelves. Contact local retailers who align with your business and see if they are interested in collaborating. You could even reach out to some of your favourite business customers to see if they are interested in making a bulk purchase as a staff or customer Christmas gift.
