GiftCard Partners Blog

We have written about and highlighted articles on the topic of tablet eCommerce and why they are becoming significant to retail marketing strategies, mostly from the perspective of prompting more retailers and merchants to accept gift cards online. This past Fall, eMarketer Digital Intelligence predicted that by 2014, 1 in 3 customers would use a tablet to make their online purchases. Tablet users will increase, and 1/3 of them will purchase online, whether or not they have ever made online purchases before. But even more importantly, Forrester Research reported that the purchase conversion rate for shoppers using a traditional PC is 3% and 4% or 5% for shoppers using tablets. So, retailers could see an increased lift, simply by the consumers’ choice of online tools. That speaks to the need for retailers to capture those new tablet users as customers. Are you ready for this? If a gift card holder goes online to purchase with their shiny new tablet; will they be turned away by your website? Will they ever come back? That’s just 1 piece of the tablet pie. Now, tablets aren’t just in the laptop bag or on the desk …they are IN stores, provided by the store! If retailers offer this intriguing, cutting edge technology in stores, more consumers will be introduced to them and begin to feel comfortable with them, and perhaps become more likely to use their tablet at home to make online purchases…This is in-store marketing GENIUS! In the recent Retail TouchPoints article
5 Ways to Use Tablets For In-store Commerce, we see a plethora of customer friendly tablets are being used in-store by retailers and merchants. “Tablets are here to stay; retailers need to embrace them and strongly consider how they can be used in stores to enhance brand experiences and build brand loyalty.” “Though many retailers are adopting this in-store technology, they’re just starting to scratch the surface of its potential. There are many ways retailers can use tablets to transform the in-store experience.” Says Gary Lombardo, Multichannel, Mobile & Social Commerce Product Marketing Lead, Demandware in the
Retail TouchPoints article. We are excited about these technologies and how retailers and merchants will integrate their gift card programs with their online sales efforts. What other cool ways have you seen tablets used in stores?

Customer loyalty is key in the market companies currently compete in. Not only is the economy still recovering from a major recession, but the pace of media messaging causes consumer fragmentation that has never been seen before. Maintaining customer loyalty can make or break companies and their bottom lines. Here are three ways companies often get customer loyalty and brand loyalty programs wrong:

Even when budgets are tight, appreciation doesn’t have to be. In fact, during periods of change or economic pressure, thoughtful recognition becomes even more essential to maintaining morale, trust, and team cohesion.

The growing demand for receiving gift cards doesn’t stop at holiday wish lists and workplace incentives. The simplicity of gift self-selection and using gift cards to stock the household with needed items, are highly redeeming factors for giving or offering gift cards in today’s difficult economy. Loyalty rewards programs are looking at this demand seriously and we’re starting to see gift cards infusing points redemption programs for credit card rewards, airline miles and consumer loyalty programs. The reason for this is simple;
gift cards offer flexibility and help people pay for everyday items….why wouldn’t loyalty rewards programs offer them to engage customers? For the same reasons, cash back programs are on the most wanted list for rewards program participants. But people are also redeeming in droves for gift cards, above more traditional rewards like travel and merchandise. Each rewards points system offers varying redemption options, but offering gift cards should be considered a priority in a world where consumers demand choice and often thriftiness.
NerdWallet takes a look at  American Express’s rewards program and rates gift cards as the top popular choice, above travel rewards and all other options (listing many as “Bad Redemption Options”). Of course, this isn’t the only perspective for why you should offer gift cards as a redemption option in your program…but as the 22nd most valuable brand in the world, American Express’s rewards program is also one of the most successful rewards programs in the world. What’s in YOUR rewards program?

The Citi Thank You Program is revolutionizing the use of rewards points. Imagine being able to share points with your friends to save up for a get-away weekend, or save up points with one friend for another friends' birthday present. Many people pool points for gift cards from retailers who partner with Citi to make their gift cards available through the Citi ThankYou program such as CVS/Pharmacy and Charming Shoppes stores. This allows consumers to use points for gift cards for themselves, or to use as gifts, giving the recipient of the gift a chance to choose their own gift. You could even pool points with friends and family to make a group contribution to a good cause. Well, now you can. The new Citi ThankYou Point Sharing App on Facebook allows groups of friends to pool points in order to redeem the value of the points for a bigger reward. This app is the beginning of a revolution in monetizing social media. This app is allowing users to move assets and share funds through Facebook, a social media platform. This app will soon promote itself, benefiting not just the Citi ThankYou Program, but its users and potential users as well. The more people use the Point Sharing App, the more people will post on Facebook about it, making the App and its use go viral across the platform. A rewards program that rewards itself, an incentive social media innovation.
For more information on the Citi ThankYou Points Sharing App check out the pymnts.com article.