GiftCard Partners Blog

This post might look familiar to you; we've added an update further down the page. Wikipedia outlines a “Virtual Wallet” as a hybrid checking/savings account with 3 components: a "Spend" account (checking), a "Reserve" account (backup checking, incurs interest), and a"Growth" account (savings). This is a pretty narrow view of a virtual wallet (note to self, update Wikipedia). Virtual wallets are cropping up not just from banks for online banking; they are being offered by credit card companies, SmartPhone providers, and there are even free versions that stores, manages, and organizes digital versions of store membership cards, coupons, loyalty cards, virtual gift cards, or any other piece of information that you store in your traditional wallet. Windows even offers a PC software version of a virtual wallet, but it’s more focused on protecting all those passwords, account numbers, and access codes vs. making purchases and using your loyalty rewards points or gift cards.
GiftCard Partners feels the Virtual Wallet that will not only change our way of shopping, paying, and redeeming, but will also combine the best of the above types and allow us to:

The GCP staff is excited for all the insights, collaboration and networking to be had at the upcoming 12^th annual IMA Executive Summit 2011, August 7-9. The theme: Learn, Connect, Benchmark and Deb Merkin, Ed Shulkin, Melina Balboni and Diane Freeland will be on-hand at the event.

Designed to keep our clients informed of the evolving B2B gift card landscape The third quarter of this year brought GiftCard Partners’ sales and marketing teams to a hugely successful Motivation Show (MoShow) in Chicago as well as a very productive IMA (Incentive Marketing Association) meeting in San Diego. We are pleased to keep you current in the events that are shaping the gift card industry as well as provide you with insights into hot topics and themes that affect your role in the retail industry.

My father-in-law just turned 80! What did we give him for his birthday? An iPhone…well, pretty much...it’s complicated. Turns out you can’t buy a phone for someone due to contracts, phone number transitions, etc. So we printed a picture of an iPhone and gave him gift cards to buy his phone. What’s my point? He is 80 and he still loves his gadgets. Now, Dads love their gadgets within gadgets, like virtual and mobile gift cards.  “Most Dads love their gadgets and now family members can give unique virtual or mobile gift cards with personalized messages that stay with them on their mobile device,” said Doug Schneider, CEO, Transaction Wireless. “Social gifting is gaining in popularity and Facebook postings give loved ones a public forum to express their feelings and appreciation for dad.” Employers can embrace holidays like Father’s Day and make a Dad feel special with spot rewards and gifting virtual and mobile gift cards. High performance, corporate recognition, safety, sales motivation and achievements…there are many ways to commemorate your employees’ fatherhood.

A new study by the Obama administration caught our attention; among other important statistics, it states that females earn about 75% of what their male counterparts make. Although employers “need to treat men and women equally”, when it comes to compensation, it’s just not going to happen overnight. However, handling employee engagement, recognition, incentives and rewards in a way that is engaging to women…MIGHT be keeping you up at night. Recognizing performance differently for women than men is a sticky topic, but employers do need to provide incentives and rewards that are relevant to women and which speak directly to their likes, needs, and wishes. An example of this is to buy gift cards in bulk and offer card brands that catch the attention of the woman, the mom, the professional (see below).