Infographic Reveals Gift Card Program Best Practices

NAPCO Research recently produced a pair of comprehensive reports on the state of the digital gift card industries in the U.S. and Australian markets. These studies, produced in conjunction with Blackhawk Network, evaluate the purchaser and recipient experience for both digital and physical cards of a brand's own gift card, based upon 100-plus unique criteria. The U.S. report included an assessment of 100 merchants; the Australian report was based on an assessment of 50 merchants.

In addition to the benchmark data these assessments yielded, the report featured best practices designed to help merchants improve the performance of their digital gift card programs. A subsequent infographic was created to summarize these best practices into a handy guide for merchants. The infographic features common themes revealed across the two reports. Here are some of the best practices shared in the infographic:

1. Promote digital gift cards to last-minute shoppers. This can be a quick and easy way to solve a consumer need.
2. Establish your company as a gifting destination (online and offline). For example, sell complementary brands’ gift cards in addition to your own brand’s on your website and mobile app as well as in your brick-and-mortar stores.
3. Add the terms “gift cards,” “gift card,” “gifts,” “gift,” etc., to your keyword list. Doing so can help your brand capitalize on high-intent shoppers that are utilizing site search to quickly and easily find gift cards for purchase.

Why is it important that merchants take the above steps, among others, to strengthen the performance of their gift card programs? Because gift cards are big business and increasing in consumer demand. The global gift card market is projected to reach $1.5 trillion by 2032, growing at a compound annual growth rate of 16.3 percent from 2023 to 2032.

By optimizing their gift card programs for both purchasers and recipients, merchants can tap into this growing revenue-generating opportunity. For more insights and best practices on the global digital gift card market, check out the full infographic here.