GiftCard Partners Blog

Gift cards were at the top of shoppers' lists again in 2013, and while we are still waiting on total evaluation of the 2013 holiday season there are some stand-out data points from NRF's initial holiday survey in October. Gift card spending was up again, with consumers averaging $45.16 per card, up from $43.75 last year. Men were forecast to be bigger spenders  than women, averaging $171.35 vs. $155.42 respectively. Gift cards' continued popularity lies in the 43.1% of consumers who think it is more meaningful to allow the gift recipient to choose their own gift. 25.3% of consumers still find gift cards too impersonal, but the former group hold the largest share of the buying power. Gift card popularity looks to be a big part of the holiday mix, and doesn't seem to be at risk of losing popularity in 2014.
For more information on gift cards' holiday popularity check out this article from the NRF.

We know gift cards are an effective employee gift or reward and make a great addition to an incentive program for employers. In this space we rarely talk about how effective gift cards are in driving sales for retailers. First Data just released a new study which uncovered convincing evidence that gift cards provide major advantages to retailers too.

Volunteers are a crucial part of the holiday season and it’s important not to forget about all that they do. Many take the time out of their own busy lives to give back to their communities, asking nothing in return. Here are a few simple, yet thoughtful volunteer appreciation gift ideas to thank those volunteers this season:

The Retail Gift Card Association (RGCA) recently released their Holiday Gift Card Trend Tracker Survey results, and there are some great notes for our retail and merchant clients, and for our B2B gift card customers as well. How are retailers approaching this year’s news that consumers will spend less during the holidays  this year than last? The RGCA states, “…despite the tight wallets, there is a silver lining for many retailers: retail gift cards.” They found in their survey that 73% of consumers will spend less this holiday shopping season, while 74% will buy and give at least one, and as many as five, gift cards as gifts. GCP’s customers, B2B gift card buyers, purchase gift cards in bulk and can also be pleased with these trends. Whatever consumers are doing, B2B buyers will want to be aware of and follow suit.
  Whether you are a retailer looking for the latest gift card trends or a B2B gift card buyer, you’ll want to
check out the RGCA’s Full White Paper and Report.  

At GiftCard Partners, we have been working hard to help gift card brands navigate the complicated eGifting technology landscape in their journey to offer eGift Cards. We've found that even though retailers accept that they will find new incremental gift card sales with early adoption, they have not rushed to do so. Forbes.com reports 70% of the retailers, recently evaluated in a CashStar study, now offer digital or “eGift cards”. This is up from 60% in 2011 and 40% in 2010. This is good news for consumers as we rely more and more on technology to organize our lives, but for retailers looking to offer eGift cards in the B2B marketplace; technology is a bit more complicated. But let’s get back to the important questions retailers ask themselves of their gift card program when preparing to go digital…”should we offer eGift cards yet?” Or “should we be early adopters or should we wait for other retailers to figure it out”? Chain Store Age online offers us their
Top 6 Misconceptions About eGift Cards and debunks them. Click to read on, the rebuttals, it will surprise you! 1. “eGift Cards will only cannibalize our existing gift card sales” 2. “Fraud in eGift Cards is too pervasive” 3. “Our IT department can build this internally” 4. “The technology is unproven” 5. “Customer adoption isn't there yet” 6. “New hardware will be required in all stores”
If you are a retailer looking to “go digital” with your gift cards, Gift Card Partners can help with our RFP  Management service. We embrace the tricky work of renegotiating existing vendor relationships, and help retailers implementing new relationships, with: card supplies, processors, payment systems providers, and more.  >>Learn more about our Services Suite designed to improve your gift card program.