ºÚÁϳԹÏ

The holidays are fast approaching which means business owners should be excited! Traditionally, the holiday season brings an influx of customers and revenue to small businesses.

While last year was an unusual holiday season for many businesses, it provided some key takeaways to ensure a successful holiday season this year. 

In this blog we will go over what small businesses can do to make the most of this year's upcoming holiday season.

Based on recent surveys and trends, one of the key answers is gift cards! 

While selling gift cards provided many businesses with a source of income during the COVID-19 pandemic, they also emerged as a dual solution to:

1. Satisfy shoppers’ desire for convenience
2. Help businesses maintain financial stability 

The gifting trends below provide some important takeaways for businesses as they prepare for the holiday shopping season. 

How gift cards are driving holiday shopping: 

• of Canadian shoppers will buy at least one gift card this holiday season
• Over of Canadians prefer gifting/receiving gift cards over traditional gifts, a number that has grown significantly over the last year
• Online gift card sales went up by year-over-year in December 2020, a number that is expected to grow further this year
• say they will buy gift cards instead of what they were originally planning to purchase

The case for small businesses: 

The low investment and high returns of stocking and selling gift cards make them one of the most effective marketing tools and revenue generators for small businesses. 

• of shoppers said they regularly buy gift cards from small businesses
• of people who receive a gift card from a small business they have never visited said they would shop at that business and return there in the future
• of people surveyed spend more than the card’s value, making them a great profit booster for any business
• The average person spends more than the value of their card. Considering how many gift cards a business could sell, there’s a lot of profit to be made

 The gift cards people want most:

While consumer opinions tend to vary widely in many areas, they seemed to agree which business types they’d most want to give or receive a gift card from: 

1. Restaurant gift cards — not to mention, of people who receive a restaurant gift card spend more than the card’s value
2.  Coffee shop gift cards
3. Specialty services and retail  

The top reasons shoppers buy gift cards:

• They’re one of the most popular items on wish lists, requested by of people
• 24% of people say they purchase gift cards because they’re less hassle than regular holiday shopping
• of people buy gift cards for themselves
• They’re perfect for procrastinators. In fact, gift card sales rise drastically within the few days leading up to Dec 25th

Thinking beyond the holidays 

According to a 2018 survey, the winter holidays are only the occasion for gift card giving. The giving trends below prove that gift cards are an effective sales booster throughout the year. 

• Birthdays - Gift cards make up 68% birthday presents, followed by the holidays 
• Mother’s Day or Father’s Day – 38% of gifts for Mom and Dad were in the form of a gift card
• Valentine’s Day – Over 27% of Valentine’s day gifts were in the form of a gift card
• Baby Showers / Births – 32% of these gifts were in the form of a gift card
• Weddings – Almost 50% of people gave gift cards to newlyweds, making them the most popular wedding gift

 Effective gift card selling strategies: 

Many small to mid-sized businesses successfully compete against big brands using these simple techniques to encourage gift card sales:

• Discounting gift cards or promo cards to bring customers back after the holiday season — Get a 15% discount card for every $50 in gift cards purchase
• Issuing low-value gift cards with purchases to attract customers — Free $10 bonus card for ever $75 in gift cards purchase. Whoever comes in to use the $10 card will probably spend the more than the card’s balance
• Selling custom gift cards for the busiest holiday seasons. For example, if you know Valentine’s day is big for your business, prepare specialized Valentine’s gift cards and promote them leading up to the holiday

What small businesses value in a gift card provider:

• Ability to activate, redeem, and sell on a point of sale system  
• Ease of implementation such as quick set up and card ordering 

When it comes to choosing a gift card provider, small business owners want convenience, which is why our gift card program offers the following: 

• Set up within 10 business days 
• Activation and redemption on our payment terminals
• Ability to import cards from a previous gift card provider
• No gift card transaction fees

Learn more about how your business can benefit from a flat monthly rate instead of paying gift card transaction fees.