GiftCard Partners Blog

In our recent post, Gift Cards are the Go-To Gift for Summer, we talked about the popularity gift cards were gaining in the gift market throughout the spring and into summer. According to a recent survey from the Retail Gift Card Association, 70% of shoppers planned to buy a gift card for occasions like Father's Day, weddings, graduations, and birthdays.

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.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (or EEOC) released their anticipated proposed rules regarding how the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) applies to workplace wellness programs. While rules are not yet in their final form and employers are not required to comply just yet, the EEOC states that employers are free to comply with the proposed rules now to reduce any risk until the final rules are issued, which is anticipated to be later this year. Here are the highlights of the proposed rules:

The biggest drawback consumers (and employers) have with gift cards is that some say they are impersonal. The stigma is, when giving a gift card, you are essentially giving cold hard cash, only good at one location. However, with the mainstream advent of digital gift cards and digital gifting, personalizing gift cards is easier than ever, not to mention a big hit with recipients.

Wearable technology is gaining popularity in the consumer market and has the potential to transform the way employers structure their employee health and wellness initiatives. The transformation will have an effect on the price tag of these initiatives, but the direct effect of incorporating wearable technology will ease the time it takes for employers to track employee wellness activity.