GiftCard Partners Blog

Spring has sprung and the winter is finally melting away. Apparently, along with flowers shooting up toward the sky, so is consumer spending. This month, the 
LA Times published an article about the recent surge in retail sales. According to them, retail sales saw their largest growth in one and a half years during the month of March. It's the best figure seen since September 2012. "'Spring is in the air indeed,' Rupkey said. 'The economy is on firm footing today and the future looks bright,'" wrote the 
LA Times. As tax refunds come through, many experts believe that we'll only see a continuous rise in retail spending. Data showed that retail sales, with the exception of automobiles, gas stations and restaurants, went up by 0.8 percent in March over February. According to the Commerce Department, seasonally adjusted retail sales grew by 1.1 percent last month.
The growth in retail sales means good things for businesses all around. It's a sign that the economy is on the rise, as consumers are spending more freely. It's also great for those with loyalty and rewards programs, who now have bigger budgets and more customers than ever to work with. There's no doubt about it, things are looking up for all of us!
Read the full article in the LA Times.

Rewarding employees is important because a happy employee is a more productive one. Thanking your employees for their hard work motivates them to work even harder. It's important to say thanks, but sometimes it's tough on a tight budget. Luckily, there are a few ways you can still offer rewards without breaking the bank.
Give them a day off. If you don't have cash to spare for a sizable bonus, you can always thank your employees by giving them an extra day off. If you'd rather not pay for a full day that he or she isn't working, you can always give the option of a late start or an early release instead. You can also think about expanding breaks or lengthening lunch hours. The point is that rewarding with time is both affordable on a small budget and still a great way to say thanks.
Hand out free food. Everyone loves a free meal or a tasty snack. Order lunch to say thanks for a successful advancement in the company. Bring in breakfast one day each month. Surprise your team with ice cream or candy one day. It doesn't always matter what you do -- it's more about making an effort to make sure your employees feel valued.
Learn the best way to motivate your employees. Everyone's different and has different preferences. What excites one employee, may not be the best way to reward another. Take polls and ask your company what they prefer. Not only will you chose rewards that better suit them, but they'll feel valued just for you asking.
Read the full article on LinkedIn.

Everyone's walked into (and presumably grabbed a coffee from) a Starbucks at least once. In many American cities you can't stand on a street corner without seeing that Mermaid logo somewhere in your 360 degree view. Starbucks has led the way in a lot of areas including employee compensation, employee training and consumer experience. Starbucks cares so much about consumer experience that they offer a full feedback loop with consumers and their app is so well designed that it has made them a (if not the) leader in mobile payments. The Starbucks app combines mobile payments and their loyalty program enables them to get consumers through the line faster, reward them for repeat purchases and streamline the consumers' checkout process. Starbucks is the mobile payments ideal, as it exists to enhance a consumers' experience at the point of sale. Setting aggressive goals to almost double their mobile payment transaction this year is what makes Starbucks an example for mobile payments across the board. Since consumers are so attached to their cell phones, bringing the check out process to their device is a great way to ensure the revenue potential skyrockets.
For more information on Howard Shultz' view on mobile payments head over to Bloomberg Businessweek.

A new type of employee is gaining ground: the self-driven high performer. Often mislabeled as “selfish” or “independent to a fault,” these individuals are motivated by internal benchmarks, personal ambition, and a desire for autonomy. They thrive on setting and reaching their own goals, not just company targets.

When it comes to business, retention is everything.
Returning customers cost less to market to and spend more money on any given purchase. That means that building customer loyalty is one of the main keys to success. But there are a few concepts you may be missing surrounding customer loyalty.
1. In-Store Money Back Rewarding customers with credit to your own company will both make the consumers happy, while encouraging them to keep spending at your company at the same time. REI
offers it's members 10 percent off, which they receive back in an REI credit at the end of every year.
2. Personalization and Customization When it comes to showing customers that you care, personalization and customization are everything. The
80/20 rule says that about 80 percent of your business comes from 20 percent of your customers. It's for this reason that it pays to go the extra mile to add a personal touch for your customers. 
Tesco, for example, collects data and uses it to create  segmented promotions, specific to individual consumers. These promotions are based on a customer's buying habits and the odds of them returning again in the near future.
3. Gift Card Loyalty Programs Gift card loyalty programs are a great way to ramp up your customer retention rates by rewarding consumers for their loyalty. At GiftCard Partners, we work with you to help reward customers with gift cards to some of the leading retailers on the market. Because of our flexibility and bulk discounts with gift cards to some of the most popular brands out there, we are one of the nation's largest developers of B2B gift card programs. For more information about our customer loyalty programs,
visit our program page today.