GiftCard Partners Blog

At this time of the year, we can’t get enough news around good deeds, especially when it involves something close to our hearts – our military servicemen. Credit Unions are typically buying gift cards in bulk as incentives to new customer incentives, but this year the Service Credit Union of Portsmouth, New Hampshire is giving for another reason. The Credit Union’s President/CEO Gordon Simmons has awarded 70 gift cards totaling $3,500 to Colonel Paul "Hutch" Hutchinson, commander

I am quite familiar with QVC; I can’t say I’ve shopped QVC, but I DO expect to have many gifts under my tree in big brown QVC boxes for Christmas. In fact, approximately 99.9% of all gifts given to me by my parents since about 1990 came from QVC. Although they are most known for their televised shopping experience, the online channel now accounts for more than 1/3rd of their sales. Their recent partnership with CashStar will leverage CashStar’s
“digital gifting and incentives platform to provide a personal, compelling and convenient gifting experience”, says CashStar in their recent press release. I for one, would love an eGift Card from QVC, so I can pick my own QVC gift this year…I’ve never known how to return the gifts my parents get me…and frankly I pick out better gifts for myself. Read more on this interesting integration of TV, online, gift cards, and the eGift:
CashStar to Power QVC's eGfit Card Program

We’ve been hearing a lot about how gift cards have become the most coveted gift this holiday season, as well as their rise to the number 1 spot for workplace incentives, but; do gift cards have a strong hold on the most redeemed item in loyalty programs? Really…we want to know! A recent study released in the United States, called “Born This Way: The US Millennial Loyalty Survey”, concluded that Gen Y, AKA “Millennial” consumers (those born between the mid-1970s and the mid-1990s)  “will change the way companies and brands build sustainable customer loyalty”. HOW?

Perhaps you have heard about the benefits and healthcare insurance savings for companies participating in health and wellness programs. And, perhaps you understand the benefits of incentives (like gift cards) for desired healthful behavior in order to keep company premiums in check. However, if you are not up to date on the above realities; you may not be in line to include health insurance penalties for those participating in UNhealthy behaviors. What is the next trend for corporate health and wellness programs? It could be falling in the employer's court and cost the employee more out-of-pocket.

Are you prepared for total immersion into e-tail? Facts to consider if your answer is NO: