With the holidays fast approaching, now’s the time to get your business ready for the busiest shopping

season of the year. Make sure that gift card sales are part of your plan. When it comes to driving sales,

boosting your brand, retaining current customers, and attracting new ones, gift cards are practically a no

brainer. More than $100 billion is spent on gift cards annually, 92 percent of U.S. consumers purchase or

receive a gift card annually, and 72 percent spend more than the value of their card.

When you treat gift cards as part of your product or service offering, you’ll reap the benefits. Here are

some easy ways to market your gift cards during the lucrative holiday season.

Customers buy what they see: Get creative with your merchandising

Display your cards in prime areas including checkout, hostess stands (restaurant), and customer

service desks (retail)

Promote gift cards on your menu boards, menus and tables (restaurant)

Use signage to promote your cards in high traffic areas including entrance windows and doors,

customer waiting areas (restaurant), dressing rooms (retail), and restrooms,

Include gift card reminder messages on sales receipts

Bundle gift cards with other products and sell them in holiday themed gift baskets

If you sell gift cards on your website, make sure a “buy gift cards” button is prominent on each

website page and social media site

Incentives work: Encourage sales with special promotions

Offer a surprise with a minimum gift purchase such as a small wrapped gift (retail), a free

appetizer (restaurant), or a cash bonus on an additional card.

Invite customers who purchase gift cards to put their names in a drawing for a free, pre-loaded

gift card

Distribute pre-loaded gift cards to loyal customers. On average, customers will spend 20% more

than the value of the card

Gift card marketing tips for the holidays

Limited-time-only incentives motivate customers to purchase

o Buy a $25 gift card as a gift, and receive a $5 gift card for you to use the next visit (or

donate the $5 the gift card to a local nonprofit/school)

o Buy one gift card and get another of equal value for half off

o Buy a $25 gift card for only $20

Keep gift cards top-of-mind for your customers

Market gift cards as an alternative to popular items. Capture potentially lost sales by promoting

gift cards near items that sell out with signage like, “This item is currently out of stock. Why not

purchase a gift card instead?”

Remind customers about the flexibility of gift cards. Promote the fact that gift cards are perfect for

people who are hard to buy for because the recipient chooses exactly what they want when they

want it.

To accommodate shoppers’ varying tastes, offer more than one gift card design including a holiday

themed card

Train your staff to promote gift cards to customers and include messaging on employee name

tags, buttons, t-shirts or hats such as, “Ask me about gift cards”

Sell in bulk: Increase your average ticket

You can also partner with local businesses to offer your gift cards to award end-of-year employee

bonuses or say ‘thank you’ to their loyal customers. Or, offer your gift cards as part of a holiday fund drive

for a favorite school or nonprofit organization. Both of these options help increase your average sale

while increasing visibility and building a positive reputation among existing and potential customers.

The holidays only come once a year. Make sure you make the most of the sales opportunities they

present by capitalizing on gift cards.

Need more cards? Call us at 970-335-1407.