Whole Foods, Sticking to Its Roots
It is great in today's business environment to see a large national brand sticking to its roots, what made it successful. Whole Foods is doing just that with its Local Producer Loan Program.
Holiday 2013: Gift Cards Top Shopping Lists
Gift cards were at the top of shoppers' lists again in 2013, and while we are still waiting on total evaluation of the 2013 holiday season there are some stand-out data points from NRF's initial holiday survey in October. Gift card spending was up again, with consumers averaging $45.16 per card, up from $43.75 last year. Men were forecast to be bigger spenders than women, averaging $171.35 vs. $155.42 respectively. Gift cards' continued popularity lies in the 43.1% of consumers who think it is more meaningful to allow the gift recipient to choose their own gift. 25.3% of consumers still find gift cards too impersonal, but the former group hold the largest share of the buying power. Gift card popularity looks to be a big part of the holiday mix, and doesn't seem to be at risk of losing popularity in 2014.
For more information on gift cards' holiday popularity check out this article from the NRF.
Why Gift Cards are Great for Retailers Too
We know gift cards are an effective employee gift or reward and make a great addition to an incentive program for employers. In this space we rarely talk about how effective gift cards are in driving sales for retailers. First Data just released a new study which uncovered convincing evidence that gift cards provide major advantages to retailers too.
3 Tips to Reward Employees, into 2014 and Beyond
As the holiday season winds down and we all count down the working hours until the Christmas break, some employers are still working on January bonus plans, or employee recognition plans for 2014. Here are a few quick tips on how to reward employees (and hopefully make your last minute planning a little easier!).
Pay-When-Use Gift Cards Help Control Retailer (and Employer!) Costs
Canadian mobile gift card vendor, Kiind, has put the gift card industry on its head. Kiind offers a pay-when-used gift card system
that doesn't charge the purchaser until the recipient has taken the gift card in-store and used it. Since unused gift cards have cost both retailers and gift-givers an immense amount of money, Kiind's technology allows gift cards to become a lower-risk proposition.
