How to boost your online store sales with gift cards

Gift card giving has experienced a significant increase, partly due to the pandemic and the world turning to online shopping, but also because of the convenience that e-cards bring. Today’s customers expect the ability to apply, purchase, and share gift cards online.

eCommerce businesses have even more reasons to utilize gift cards. They’re not just a requirement to live up to shoppers’ expectations, but also parts of a marketing mix to increase conversion rates.

In this blog post, we’ll explore how online stores can make money on gift cards and share a list of tactics to push up your sales with them. Let’s dig deeper into how to run a gift voucher program that works.

Source: Statista: gift card sales statistics

Why sell gift cards?

If you still feel doubtful about selling gift cards on your website, here are a few reasons why you should include them in your marketing strategy:

• Highly requested. Many shops in a time crunch as we’re living in a busy world. Gift cards give both the givers and receivers the precious freedom to do shopping when the timing is right.
• No profit loss. Did you know that an average customer spends approximately $60 more than the value of a gift card? It means that when selling a gift card, you receive an increase in cash flow. Plus, to get profit, no significant investment would be required.
• Increased brand awareness. It’s common knowledge that attracting new customers costs more than retaining the old ones. In fact, the ability to share gift vouchers allows your brand evangelists to do the job for you.
• Competitive advantage. While this marketing tactic won’t let you outcompete eCommerce leaders overnight, it can certainly help you stand out from companies of the same levels. Why not take the opportunity and make your business more distinct?
• Perfect for omnichannel marketing. Just released a mobile app? Wish to attract more foot traffic to your brick-and-mortar stores? Gift cards can be issued to bring extra benefits when used via specific channels. Otherwise, you can distribute them through certain marketing channels to promote the targeted ones or use gift cards as a part of your omnichannel loyalty programs.

Source: Starbucks

Gift certificates’ effect on your monthly income

According to NRF’s holiday survey, 58.8% of shoppers want to receive a gift card as a present, which makes gift vouchers the most requested gift item for many years in a row.

Paytronix’s 2019 Annual Gift Card Sales Report proves that vouchers get redeemed more frequently and they contribute to a 6% increase in check size on orders that are placed and paid, either in full or partially, with the help of an e-card.

Imagine an average check of order in your store is $25, and you have 1,000 orders monthly. That’s $25,000 per month. Roughly, you can gain an extra $1,500 per month at least. Not to mention the possibility of attracting new customers and getting a chance to turn them into regulars.

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“Arguably, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the use of digital gift cards has transcended most generations and will continue to accelerate. It makes it a must for eCommerce merchants to provide multiple e-cards options on their sites and ensure the required feasibility for the users (gift cards sharing, forwarding via an email or as a printed gift card, etc.)”, says Ellie Yantsan, Marketing Executive at Mageworx.

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7 techniques to boost gift card selling

While seasonal holidays are when gift card giving and selling experience the most increase, anytime is a good time to adjust your strategy and make e-cards more attractive for the shoppers. The following 7 tactics can pitch in and help skyrocket your profit further when sales are down.

Tactic #1. Make e-cards more visible

Can your shoppers quickly access gift cards from the main page? Are gift vouchers included within the navigation tree? Do you shoppers know about gift card availability?

Make sure to communicate this information to your visitors via multiple marketing channels and display e-cards prominently on your website.

Moreover, you should include a variety of designs for the customer to choose from.

Tactic #2. Cross-sell to boost gift cards

Cross-selling works. Why not cross-merchandise e-cards where appropriate?

For example, you have a special product category dedicated to a specific holiday. Including gift cards of different values could attract some shoppers who are browsing for presents and give them another choice of gift for their friends.

Tactic #3. Make them available on various channels

If you’re just introducing gift cards, make sure all your customers―no matter what channel of communication and shopping they prefer―are aware of your gift card offerings.

If you’ve been using this marketing mix for a while already, consider creating channel-tailored unique deals. It wouldn’t hurt to generate gift cards for specific marketing channels: newsletters, social media, Google ads, etc.

Source: Google Trends

Tactic #4. Talk about gift cards

Never stick to a passive approach to whatever you do online. Gift cards are no exception. If you operate both online and offline, make sure your salespeople mention e-cards availability instantly.

Think about including a mention in your email signature, or create a closing phrase with a mention for your support team representatives.

McDonald’s “Would you like fries with that?” has managed to skyrocket their sales drastically with a single question. Why not learn from their success?

Tactic #5. Generate holiday-specific e-cards

Limited edition. 100 items only. Only this spring.

The customers love feeling special and having access to one-of-a-kind deals and offerings.

Beautifully designed and created for special occasions, e-cards can become one of the means that help you go viral and attract the attention of your target audience (and even beyond).

Tactic #6. Add kickbacks

It is a proven means to increase the value of a sold gift card. Buy one, get one free.

Think of incentivizing purchases of higher-value e-cards by offering smaller-value ones for free as compensation.

Customers love getting free gifts, so why not give them the so-desired chance to indulge themselves or their friends with your offerings free of charge. Plus, if the amount of a kickback is not enough to cover a purchase, your customers are encouraged to increase their order value.

Tactic #7. Partner with other businesses

When or where do customers use your offerings most often?

Consider partnering with non-competitor businesses by offering each other’s gift cards. Besides the ability to promote your services or goods, it’s a highly potential option to reach out to new audiences and elevate interest in your gift certificates.

Wrap up

Gift cards remain popular, important, and expected.

We’ve highlighted 7 working tactics to help boost your online store sales with their help.

Any eCommerce business now has the means to introduce the functionality flawlessly by using a platform’s core functionality, or via a gift card API. Enjoy the full scope of advantages that this marketing mix brings.

Author bio: Guest post from Yana Khainiuk, an SEO expert in Mageworx.