How To Increase Sales With Gift Cards

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We’ll let you in on a little secret the retail industry has known for decades – gift cards are an important source of profit for three reasons. 1. Clients with gift cards spend more. Studies show they spend an average of $20 dollars beyond the value of the gift card. 2. They are more likely to choose your salon for a service because they have a gift card. 3. Many gift cards go unredeemed. The statistics vary widely business to business, but it’s safe to say that a significant portion of purchased gift cards are never redeemed which means “free money” for the business.

So if you’re not selling gift cards in your salon suite, you should be. Here are seven ways to merchandise and sell gift cards to maximize revenue for your business:

There may be increased spending on gift cards this holiday season, and that may help boost retail sales next year, former Walmart U.S. President and CEO Bill Simon told CNBC on Thursday. According to the article “10 Awesome Tips for Using Gift Cards to Boost Your Holiday Sales” by contributor Rieva Lesonsky on smallbiztrends.com, gift cards are no longer just an option for major retailers to offer. “In fact, a new study reports, half of U.S. Consumers are very open to buying gift cards from small, independent retailers.

1. Invest in actual gift cards. For small businesses, it’s common to see e-gift certificates and printable paper ones, but investing in actual gift cards for your suite is a good idea. It makes a gift card purchase more “giftable,” legitimizes your small business and establishes your branding. If you use Square for point of purchase, they have a gift card program for small business.

2. Display gift cards in your suite. Make sure clients see and know you have gift cards available for purchase. Get an inexpensive display rack and cards to hold the gift cards when purchased. Seasonal cards are a good choice, from Thank You to Happy Birthday and Mother’s Day themes.

3. Make sure gift card promotion is on your marketing calendar. Gift card specials and reminders should hit hard in October, November and December when gift card searches and purchases soar for the holiday season. Make gift cards a topic of your text marketing, email marketing and social ad content during these months.

4. Offer a service guide with each gift card. Create a simple guide for the gift card that features your newest services or products to help get people excited about buying and redeeming your gift card.

5. Bundle gift cards with other services. Just think how appealing a package is that includes a gift card plus a free 30-minute massage sounds. Yes, please!

6. Mention gift cards. Many suite owners are reluctant to push retail products but a proactive “We have several holiday's coming up...do you need any gift cards?” question before a client pays can go a long way to boosting sales.

7. Sweeten the deal. Consider sweetening deal by adding in a small gift for the person buying the gift card. For example, 'Buy a $50 gift card and receive a travel size shampoo for yourself.' Or consider discounting the gift card, selling a $50 gift card for $40. This works well in the last week leading up to a holiday as you can turn those last-minute shoppers into buyers.

8. Spread the word. Through email, text, social media or even better through your FREE A Suite Salon app, let clients know about your gift card program. Create a fun post and story that includes photos of your gift cards with your products and mention any promotions you're having.

Gift card business is booming with tens of billions of dollars spent every year, particularly during the holiday season. Gift cards have the potential to add real value to any business and increase the revenue brought in.

Balance

If you currently offer gift cards but aren’t finding they’re selling too well, there are a number of different ways to increase your sales. Here are three top tips on how to increase gift card sales.

Create a gift card promotion

You may regularly have promotions and discounts on offer in your store, but how often do you create a campaign that’s aimed specifically at gift cards?

Rather than hoping customers will just take advantage of the generic offers in store, by creating promotions just for gift cards, you could send your sales through the roof.

Some of the different types of promotions you could run include:

  • Buy X number of gift cards and get another one free
  • Spend X on your gift card and receive 5% off
  • Buy one gift card and get 50% off another card worth the same value or less

If you want to run a gift card campaign alongside a certain product, you could offer a small incentive to purchase. Ideas you could try include offering a free $5 gift card with the purchase of a featured product.

How To Increase Sales With Gift Cards For Cash

This may sound as if you’re giving away more cash but research shows that when the customer redeems their gift card, they exceed the value, bringing you even more profit. Investing in a gift card campaign could therefore really offer dividends in the future.

Find a partner

How To Increase Sales With Gift Cards Balance

One different approach you could try is to partner up with another brand, organization or group to reach a new and bigger audience. This could include companies whose products complement yours or even bodies such as schools.

You could also offer the gift cards as part of a fundraising initiative. For every card you sell, a certain amount could be donated back to a nominated charitable organization. This could help you procure more sales as individuals may purchase the card deliberately to benefit the chosen charity.

Other schemes you could partner up with to drive further gift card sales include loyalty scheme gifts, employee rewards, and sales incentives. Opting to target the B2B market opens up the possibility of even more potential revenue as this is a frequent type of purchase that companies make.

Be seen!

Some stores make the mistake of being shy about their gift cards, just tucking them into a discreet stand that’s hidden near the cashier. Be brave and be bold; your gift cards deserve to be seen!

While having them on display near your cash register is a good place, make sure the display is eye-catching and can’t be missed. Don’t be afraid to consider other strategies too such as T-shirts advertising gift cards for the staff or signs in the window. Make sure your staff are primed to capitalize on any opportunities to upsell a gift card and regularly offer them at the point of sale.

Claim your share

How To Increase Sales With Gift Cards Without

Gift cards are a multi-billion dollar market and it’s not difficult to make sure you claim your fair share of the potential income. The above three tips are simple to implement but could help you achieve the maximum possible gift card sales for your store.