GiftCard Partners Blog

We are two weeks away from the 2014 All Payments Expo that will take place at The Mirage in Las Vegas this year. As regular attendees of the event, the GiftCard Partners team is looking forward to seeing both new and returning faces in the payments industry and speaking with new loyalty, incentive and payment companies who can use gift cards as part of their reward complement. The APEX brings together Alternative Financial Services, Emerging Payments, Omnichannel Retail Strategies and Prepaid all in one location to focus on areas of growth and convergence in payments. Check out more on the APEX
here.

The New York Times reports on an interesting new shape for customer loyalty programs, and it’s not as simple as just maintaining, focusing on, or improving a loyalty program. This centers around GE Capital’s relationship with Kobie Marketing to unify shoppers’ profiles, to not just track purchases and create offers and rewards based on what is paid for on plastic, but also monitoring shoppers’ retail social media interactions. The New York Times article explains, “That means they can be monitored across any platforms they might use to interact with the company, like Facebook, Foursquare or an app, and their purchases can be integrated into that profile regardless of how they pay.” The article shows how, “Membership and loyalty programs have been a part of the retail landscape for years, but they have become increasingly important as retailers vie for customers both online and in their physical stores.” An example of the importance of such programs is Sears Holdings’ rewards program, “Shop Your Way”, accounted for 70% of their 3rd quarter 2013 sales
¹. Sears Holdings’ year end results
² may have been even more disappointing WITHOUT the strong boost their loyalty program offered them. Loyalty program evolution and growth is important to retailers and merchants who continually need new and innovative ways to engage with and retain customers. Click for more of the article GE Capital to help Set Up Loyalty Programs for Retailers. Sources: 1. TNYT: GE Capital to help Set Up Loyalty Programs for Retailers 2. TNYT: Sears’s Sales Fell 9.2% in Tepid Holiday Season

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.

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.