GiftCard Partners Blog

I recently posted a response and opposing side to a story called “The Myth of Work Life Balance”, which stated that there was no such thing as this balance, that this idea is a pathetic chase and unattainable. Of course, I scathed out my side, practically offended that a woman would advocate “giving up” our journey to work-life balance; it doesn’t exist. Honestly, I’ve felt a bit unsettled that my attempt at debunking this myth was just one mom’s personal story and perspective and not representative enough of others’ truths. However, my company meeting gives us proof otherwise.

The number of consumers shopping across multiple channels is expanding while retailers everywhere face margin challenges and an uncertain economy. Consumers will seek information both on-line, and through mobile technology but will only shop in the most convenient channel. Multi-channel retail has become theexpectation (and a competitive advantage). This strategy allows the company to be everywhere the consumer is shopping, and lowers the risk the shopper will inquire at their outlet, and spend their money elsewhere. The difficult part of multi-channel retail is making the transition and keeping up with the consumer trends. How are multi-channel retailers reacting to this change in consumer shopping?

Next week at the Incentive Marketing Association Annual Summit look for GiftCard Partners' Cheif Operating Officer Deb Merkin to moderate a panel entitled: "Challenges of Moving Bulk eCerts/mCerts Through the Distribution Pipeline."  The session will discuss the challenges and benefits of eCert and mCert technology and how they can and are expanding the incentive gift card market.  Deb will be moderating a panel of industry experts in discussion on this cutting edge topic.  The session will take place on Tuesday August 9th from 1:45 until 2:45.  
For more information check out the IMA Summit schedule here.  

Every once in a while I’ve got to blog a gift card feel-good story. In Indiana, the Worth County Development Authority is offering students in the county a $75.00 gift card to help with pricey back to school expenses. The non-profit organization is donating more than 1,300 gift cards, that’s more than $100,000 worth. Back to school can be a stressful and expensive time for families; it’s nice to see this creative use of gift cards. Watch the video below:  

This is an interesting topic for our clients (retailers) to follow. When we sell our merchant client’s gift cards into the B2B sector, our client’s wish that they could “know” who the gift card users are. The customer who selects a merchant gift card as reward for doing a great job or through their credit card loyalty program are in fact consumers and therefore, potential brand advocates, and incremental new customers of the future. The consumer who redeems for a gift card is one