The holidays are the most exciting (and stressful!) time of the year for retailers. For most, revenues go through the roof. And for some, these are the months that make their business profitable. However, this busy and profitable season oftentimes has the potential to be even more so. Many retail store owners don’t look at ways to improve during this season simply because sales are already high.
After all, why try to improve something that is already great? But think about a 5% increase in sales during a busy time. This will bring in much more revenue than a 5% boost during the slow season. So this holiday season, make it a point to discover the full potential of your business and be open to making a few changes.
Today we’ll take a look at the benefits of gift cards, in particular. Your retail POS system should make gift cards easy to create, organize, and redeem. KORONA POS does exactly this with their POS gift card integration.
So What Are the Biggest Benefits of Gift Cards?
Does your retail store offer gift cards? How much thought do you give them? There are many different ways to implement your gift card program. Most retailers offer gift cards but few give them the thought that they deserve. Studies show that gift cards can be a real money maker, especially during the holiday season.
These are the advantages of gift cards for your retail business:
- More than 10% of all gift cards never get redeemed. It’s free money!
- The more you promote gift cards, the higher the rate of unredeemed gift cards.
- Customers who do end up redeeming their gift cards usually spend more than the value of their card when they come in.
- It’s an easy way to raise brand awareness.
- Gift cards benefit your business by bringing in new customers who could become regulars and boost loyalty.
- Even fancy looking gift cards can be pretty affordable.
- Gift cards can be sold during slower times of the year to help keep revenue steady.
- In a time of crisis, they are even more important. During COVID-19, businesses sold gift cards to be used upon reopening.
Beware of a Few Common Gift Card Mistakes
It’s imperative to at least offer gift cards, and we’d recommend that you give them a little more love this year. But there are a few common pitfalls to be aware of before setting up your gift card system:
- Don’t get locked in
A common trick, especially among credit card processors, is to offer free gift card processing in order to entice prospective customers. But the problem arises when retailers want to switch processors. Most don’t allow you to export current gift card values. This ultimately forces you to stick with the processor as long as you have unredeemed gift cards. - Don’t issue handwritten gift receipts
In an age of eCommerce, mobile payments, and integrated customer loyalty programs, there are still plenty of businesses that issue handwritten gift receipts. It’s usually not the best look, and it makes inventory and organization a nightmare. It takes longer and there is no way of verifying its validity. If you offer gift cards, do it the right way.
The Gift Card Solution
KORONA POS has an integrated gift card system. This allows you to use any type of gift card without being tied to the credit card processor.
In addition, you can import or export the entire gift card database in seconds. And the best? You can be up and running within minutes. Simply use the gift card assistant found in the “getting started” widget on your dashboard. And you’re on your way to marketing and selling more gift cards this year!
