Two thirds (63%) of holiday shoppers say they are more likely to buy their loved ones a gift card/certificate rather than an actual present this year, and 41% say gift cards are the top item on their own wish lists. That’s according to a survey by Mastercard, but we already know that a gift card is preferable to another pair of socks.’
Here are HQ’s picks for the top gift card programs:
Your POS System
The simplest and most convenient way to create a gift card program is to go straight to the source: your POS system itself. Most cloud-based POS systems offer their own gift card functionality, or they’ll integrate with a third-party gift card app. Clover (Clover.com) makes it easy to accept gift cards, manage account balances, and reload cards through your POS system. Clover’s user-friendly platform lets you choose from over 70 distinctive design templates.
GiftFly
Another easy way to offer gift cards is through a virtual service such as GiftFly. Once purchased, the GiftFly is instantly sent to the recipient via email and can be redeemed at participating merchants. GiftFly is free for all of your customers to use with no hidden fees and it never expires!
Duracard
Duracard (Duracard.com) creates custom plastic gift cards, printed with a magnetic stripe or barcode, to which businesses can apply a dollar value. With Duracard, retailers can control the value of the card electronically, which generates a renewable balance and creates opportunities for repeat shopping and the nurturing of customer loyalty.
Loyalty Gator
Loyalty Gator (loyaltygator.com) allows retailers to create custom branded cards that can be reloaded online at your customer’s convenience. Once registered, the card value is stored within the customer’s account, and when that card is used at your store, the system allows you to collect valuable customer data such as visit frequency and purchase history. Loyalty Gator can also act as a high-tech punch card, rewarding customers based on multiple product purchases such as “Buy 9 prerolls, get the 10th free.”
