GiftCard Partners Blog

Summer gift cards are gaining popularity in the gift market this spring and summer. As individuals look for gifts for moms, dads, grads and newlyweds, gift cards continue to be the catch-all gift that's easy for the gifter and always a pleasant surprise for the giftee. The  infographic below from the Retail Gift Card Association reveals that 80% of gifters want their recipients to have the option to redeem online or in-store, showing that omnichannel flexibility is an overwhelming consumer concern. Since gift cards are flexible in nature, consumers want to ensure that recipients have as much flexibility in how and where they redeem as they do in what merchandise they redeem for.

According to a new survey from the Retail Gift Card Association, up to 70% of consumers will buy gift cards for friends and family by the end of the summer. This is an important finding for B2B gift card programs as well. Why's that? Because the survey also revealed that 95% of consumers are hoping to
receive gift cards this spring and summer. While this directly applies to celebrations like birthdays, graduations and weddings, the popularity of gift cards can also segue to employees recognition programs, health and wellness programs and employees rewards. Here are key findings from the study:

The latest big news from Whole Foods Market isn’t just the fact that they set another sales record in the second quarter, the grocery chain also just announced that they are launching a new store concept that is specifically targeted to the Millennial shopper. The company says it is building a team that plans to focus exclusively on this new concept and is currently negotiating leases. Whole Foods Market plans to begin opening stores next year.

The better the choice, the more apt the person is to be active in the loyalty or incentive program, pursuing the desired behavior in order to earn the reward. Loyalty program participation is a problem for many companies. According to the Colloquy Loyalty Consensus released in February 2015, the average household is “involved” in 29 programs, but active in only 12.1.

Last week Corporate Responsibility Magazine announced its 16th annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens List and CVS Health cracked the top 30, representing one of only three retailers that made the list this year. According to CR Magazine the 100 Best List documents 303 data points of disclosure and performance measures - taken from information in seven categories: