GiftCard Partners Blog

Gift cards give peace of mind to the giver; nearly 1/3 of respondents to a recent TD Bank survey, “…believes the greatest stresses lie in not knowing what to buy or worrying whether the recipient will like the gift.” Don’t stress, give gift cards. Companies like
GCP sell gift cards to companies giving corporate gifts to partners, customers and employees. It makes fiscal sense, as there are discounts offered for various levels of buying in bulk. Why are gift cards the most coveted gift to receive this holiday season? Your employees will use them to button up last minute shopping, 31% of respondents of the survey said they look to use their gift cards for day-to-day expenses like groceries. You’ll be offering your employees and customers more than a holiday gift; you’ll be offering them help. For more up-to-date consumer sentiments and statistics on gift cards, read:
Spending Expected to Hold Steady This Year with Gift Cards the Preferred Gift

Timeliness!

Incentive Magazine recently published an article called
“Forget Employee of the Month and Focus on Employee of the Moment”, where they discussed the rise of importance of immediate rewards for brilliant performance. In the past year, our connected sociability brought a 250% increase in tweets per day, 100% growth of LinkedIn users, and Facebook’s increases logins to 250 million each day, indicating a rapidly growing culture of immediacy. How does this effect HR professionals? Razor Suleman’s Incentive article announces that it’s time to institute an “Employee of the Moment” strategy by launching a social networking campaign to:

Save 10% on Holiday Gifts your Employees Can Really Use! This November through December, CVS/pharmacy
^®introduces Project Thankful™, a corporate gift card program that offers new customers a bonus $250 in eGift cards for every $2,500 in CVS eGift cards they purchase. CVS eGift cards are the perfect pick for keeping your employees and their families healthy this holiday season. They can purchase healthful items for themselves and their family, from flu shots to prescriptions and health and beauty products. Show your employees you’re thankful and thoughtful this holiday season and save!
 This offer expires December 31^st, 2011, so make your purchase today.

Over the last few years, in reaction to the US recession settling in; shoppers have doubled-up their holiday purchases in order to stretch the family dollar beyond the holiday deals. “Shoppers say they intend to spend $130.43, on average, on sales of clothes, electronics, home goods and other items for themselves or their families, up 16 percent from last year’s $112.20”, according to the National Retail Federation’s 2011 Holiday Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey. In the coming weeks, CVS/pharmacy and GiftCard Partners will launch a B2B promotion in that exact vein. The campaign is directly tied to employers’ holiday giving to employees, allowing employers to save money and GIVE MORE. At a store like CVS, gift card recipients can cash in on holiday deals to purchase every-day items for themselves and their families in addition to their holiday shopping. Visit
Holiday Shoppers Want Deals for Themselves to learn more about this consumer trend, and GCP will deliver more in early November to help employers save while giving more to their employees for the holidays. Source: Chicago Sun-Times