GiftCard Partners Blog

Running low on shampoo, toothpaste, paper towels or cold medicine? Grab your free bag with purchase and start filling it up. CVS/pharmacy has announced a promotion for their ExtraCare Members giving them 30% off their purchase at all of their 7,800 store locations. All members have to do is go into their local CVS/pharmacy and scan their ExtraCare card at the ExtraCare Coupon Center and from now until May 26 they will receive a 30% coupon each week to use on more than 3,000 CVS/pharmacy exclusive items. In an article from Retailing Today, Cia Tucci, VP of store brands for CVS/pharmacy, said;

Medicaid engagement is not always easy.  Keeping Medicaid members engaged in healthy activities can be a difficult task. But healthy activities are important for preventing chronic illnesses and keeping rising health care costs at bay. Incentives have a positive influence on Medicaid and keep members on track to getting the health care screenings needed to keep them well. Check out the ways incentives had a positive effect on Medicaid programs such as smoking cessation, weight loss, and more in the Infographic below.

The third-party gift card segment has consistently been one of the fastest growing gift card distribution channels for the last seven years. Third-party can easily be your largest sales channel outside of your own stores. Actively engaging in third-party sales can increase your brand footprint, reaching consumers that may have not known about your brand otherwise. Having ongoing, frequent dialogue with your third-party aggregator is key to understanding what exactly their retail partners are doing to drive your gift card sales. The aggregators provide you with access to your sales, but do you know why your sales may be trending up or down? Ensuring that your third-party gift cards are properly merchandised and in stock is one of the most critical components to why your sales may be trending positively or negatively. If your gift card is not available when a customer wants to buy it, you have a lost a sale and a visit to your establishment. Here is a list of additional questions to consider when analyzing your third-party program:

Wearable technology is gaining popularity in the consumer market and has the potential to transform the way employers structure their employee health and wellness initiatives. The transformation will have an effect on the price tag of these initiatives, but the direct effect of incorporating wearable technology will ease the time it takes for employers to track employee wellness activity. 

Employees are your brand. They are the ultimate liaison between you and your customers. No customers, no business, so it's critical to make an employee investment and consider it an investment in your brand. In order to ensure your employees are the strongest representation of your brand you must create a culture of employee engagement. Here are three ways to do that.