Christmas is in three days and if you’re like many people, a gift card is a reliable and convenient way to buy a present for the person who is impossible to buy for (or whom you forgot to buy fort). The popularity of this method of gift giving is reflected in the fact that this year gift card sales will exceed a trillion dollars for the first time.
But do you really understand the realities of giving a gift card?
Marketing guru Seth Godin explains that “Surveys show that the buyer spends about 21% less per gift than they do when they actually buy something, while the recipients of the gift find themselves spending 61% more than the value of the card when they actually redeem it for money. Most of all, the retailer comes out ahead–far fewer returns, lots of never redeemed cards, better cash flow and new customer accounts when people do show up to eventually buy.”
He offers a creative way to make his year’s gift of these cards more personal and valuable to the recipient. Find out how to be a little more creative with your gift card strategy this year by checking out Mr. Godin’s blog post: The Thought that Counts.”
