8 Tips for Increasing Gift Card Sales

As part of the 2023 UK Retail Gift Cards Evaluated: Comprehensive Guide for Best Practice and Opportunities, UK Edition, a comprehensive report produced by NAPCO Research in conjunction with sponsor partner Blackhawk Network, best practices for the three channels evaluated (digital/e-commerce, in-store, mobile) were included. The best practices are intended to help readers improve the performance of their gift card programmes, including driving increased consumer awareness, facilitating better purchaser and recipient experiences, and ultimately generating more sales. Here's a sampling of those best practices, segmented by channel.

Digital/E-Commerce

• Ensure that fraud detection strikes the balance between secure and not overly stringent to the point of valid customer transactions.
• Make the gift card redemption process simple and seamless with clear instructions, the ability to redeem across channels, easily begin shopping and readily access customer support.
• Market your brand’s gift cards in all channels, including on website, social media, and in-app.

In-Store

• Ensure there are many varieties of a retailer’s own gift card on the average fixture.
• Make sure gift card fixtures are cross-merchandised with relevant items when it makes sense.
• Have clear communication to the buyer that the store accepts mobile payments in the checkout lane (Apple Pay, Samsung Pay, Google Pay)

Mobile

• Utilise mobile apps for gift card offerings to present your gift card programme to already loyal customers.
• Allow customers to purchase a physical gift card as ‘click and collect’ – this is an easy way to accommodate more customers during the purchase process. Mobile acts as the bridge between online and offline channels.

This is just a small sampling of the valuable and practical tips that are included in the full report. Download the 2023 UK Retail Gift Cards Evaluated: Comprehensive Guide for Best Practice and Opportunities, UK Edition today to get all the best practices as well as insights into how retailers' gift cards programmes are trending year-over-year.