Gift cards
have been around for years. You have seen them in all the big stores such as
Home Depot, Macy's and Walmart and large chain restaurants such as TGI Fridays.
These are such powerful instruments that 80% of the top 100 retailers in the
United States say that they represent the largest single selling item for them.
Today, more and more small and medium size retailers and jumping on the gift
card train.
A card
program will have undeniable advantages to a small and medium size retailer.
They are convenient alternatives for people who do not know what present to buy
for a friend of family member. They will expand a business' customer base with
very little investment. And they provide businesses with immediate cash while
the product or service is supplied at a later date. Retailers are also
discovering that the cards are a powerful marketing tool. A retailer that does
not have a program in place may be considered less attractive than a competitor
offering the service. However, to be effective, such a program must be
attractive to customers. Creative gift card packaging plays an important role
in card giving.
They are a
great gift for the person who has every or who is difficult to please.
Retailers love them and they are a multi-billion dollar industry. Gift cards
have exploded onto the scene over the past number of years as a fast and
convenient way to give a gift to someone. And most people love getting them
since you always know that you will be getting something you really want.
Just how
popular have gift cards become? Well numbers found from Statistics Canada
showed that in 2003 about one third of all retailers were running a gift card
program. Three years later that number had increased to around 82% of retailers
that sold gift cards in their stores. And the biggest reason could be
convenience.
If you have
a teen who just got their driver's license it is not exactly practical to
wrap-up a canister of gas as a present and you certainly are not going to give
them your credit card. But you can very easily give them a gift card for $100.
Or by giving a card that is good for a bus or train ticket you will not have to
worry about travel dates since the card can be redeemed for a ticket at any
time.
One of the
most successful and popular types of gift cards to give someone is for coffee
shops. These can be given to family, friends and co-workers and really is the
gift that keeps on giving with a little caffeine jolt every morning. Retailers
like Star Bucks even lets you purchase another gift card for someone using the
credits that are on your own card.
There are
even gift card options that are geared specifically for the wealthy clientele.
The Four Seasons hotel chain offers cards with denominations of $1,000 up to
$5,000. And if that is not enough for you, you can contact the head office and
arrange for a whopping $100,000 value gift card. For that amount of money will
want to find a great gift card holder to put it in.
While gift
cards remain convenient and popular there is a drawback in purchasing them and
that is that unlike store merchandise, these cards never go on sale. For the
recipient of the card, they can buy sale items and make their redemption money
go further. But the person giving the card would not have the to opportunity to
buy a higher priced item at a discounted price.
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