GiftCard Partners Blog

Over 3,300 U.S. consumers over the age of 18 were surveyed for this year’s
Consumer Insights Study from
First Data. The Consumer Insights study provides a comprehensive gift card insights on consumer usage. This year’s study shows how vital gift card programs are to a retailer’s marketing strategy. The popularity of online shopping and usage of mobile wallets have been embraced by consumers, as the desire grows for faster and more personalized shopping experiences.

According to a new poll of 617 full-time workers by
Flex+Strategy Group and Work+Life Fit, about half of all U.S. workers take part in some kind of wellness initiative, while about a third of all workers participate in some kind of employer-sponsored initiative. So if half of employees are doing some kind of exercise, and a third are doing it with work, what’s everyone else up to?

Whether we know it or not we are living in a professional environment where there is an effective employee recognition gap. That means employees don’t feel recognized and it's an employers responsibility to work on closing that gap. According to a survey commissioned by
recognition company OGO, 82% of employed Americans feel that their superiors are not recognizing them for their contributions. That lack of recognition can take a toll, not only on morale and productivity, but ultimately the overall productivity of the employee, their team, and the organization.

While the number of wellness programs continues to grow, we can’t help but wonder which incentives in corporate wellness are truly motivating employees to participate in programs and, most importantly, to stay well. There is still so much to learn about what works best in wellness and we are quickly learning that there is no one-size fits all motivator and motivation can be both
intrinsic and
extrinsic.

While getting a customer in your store for the first time is important, in order for your success in retail, the focus needs to be placed on repeat business. It is 6-7 times more expensive to acquire a new customer than it is to keep one. Customer loyalty programs work well, but most businesses may be getting it wrong. Here are 3 steps for measuring customer loyalty and rewards ideas.
Track Customer Purchasing Habits  In order to measure the effectiveness of a loyalty program we need to record the number of new customer vs. the number of repeat customers. This is the very basic first step, tracking who is coming in and what they have purchased. The easiest way to obtain this information is through a connected POS system. A connected POS system automatically sets up customer profiles and tracks their purchases every time they return. This helps provide retailers with an insightful analysis of their customer base. Having linked loyalty cards/spending cards also helps in tracking customer purchases.
Calculate Important Metrics Simple metrics can help a retailer know whether or not their loyalty program is impacting their customers. Some important metrics to consider: