Online gift card sales grew enormously during the pandemic years 2020 & 2021 and, according to Statista, gift cards were the most popular Christmas present in both years. Now the 2024 Christmas season is just around the corner – and this year it starts particularly early in many places. That's why we've put together these 11 tips for increasing your gift card sales in the run-up to Christmas.
The run-up to Christmas offers you many opportunities. The gift card market keeps growing, and despite inflation, people are happy to spend at Christmas. For many retailers, Black Friday and the Christmas season make or break the whole year. These tips show you how to get the most out of your gift card solution and boost your Christmas profits. So which features matter most right now?
1. Use your offer to build anticipation for the Christmas season
Get your customers excited about Christmas. Tailor your whole range (including your gift cards) to the coming weeks, and make sure you offer products or services your customers love and will want from November onwards. Advent calendars, Christmas-themed gift cards, tickets for your courses or events, discount campaigns (via coupons) and gift baskets are just a few examples. Or put together packages for your activities and experiences in the gift card system. Bundles are ideal for gift-givers who are short on ideas – and as a bonus, they increase the basket size.
2. Optimize the marketing of your online shop
Drive more traffic to your gift card shop by using every channel you have. Social media, email newsletters and talking to customers directly all work well.
Make sure your Christmas gift card shop is clearly labelled and easy to find on your website. The more prominent it is, the more gift cards you'll sell.
Give your gurado gift card shop a festive touch too, for example:
- add a new header image to the shop with a clear call to action
- or put a Santa hat on your logo, or let Rudolph fly across the picture
- use gift card designs with wintry, Christmassy or Black Friday motifs
- use a more festive colour for the gift card shop (save a new template)
- change the automated texts of your gift card email to a pre-Christmas tone. (don't forget to set yourself a reminder to switch back to the old texts after Christmas)
3. Offer beautiful, personalized printed gift cards
A beautiful printed gift card lets your customers give their loved ones joy and unforgettable moments. Our printed gift cards come in two formats, a folded card and a postcard; you can design them individually and they can be redeemed for any event or product. The perfect gift, whatever the occasion!
4. Allow a personal message on the gift card
Offer plenty of ways to personalize gift cards – for example, let customers choose between several designs. The more personal a gift card feels to the recipient, the more it strengthens long-term customer relationships. No time to design gift cards yourself? No problem – for a small fee we'll do it for you. Just tell us which printed format and how many designs you need, and we'll create them in no time.
5. Offer plenty of payment options
Use secure, well-known payment providers so customers can quickly find their preferred option and pay straight away. With gurado, the money goes directly to your own account, and you have direct connections to all common payment providers and almost all payment services: PayPal Smart Buttons, Klarna, PayOne, Concardis, Hobex, Six Payments, VR-Payment, etc.
6. Offer free shipping in your online shop
Normally, your customers pay the postage for printed gift cards, but during the most wonderful time of the year you could cover at least part of it as a one-off gesture.
7. Offer special discount campaigns
Sometimes a personal discount code is exactly what convinces customers to buy right away. Either create basket price rules that give customers a percentage off in the gift card shop, or launch a coupon campaign and generate as many pre-loaded codes as you like.
You can distribute the codes online or offline in many ways and easily track redemptions. You can also set rules for validity, values or eligible products.
Want to create a coupon campaign and need help? Take a look here.
8. Send personalized gift card codes by email for specific occasions
Sending codes by newsletter works for every business, whatever the industry or size. Use the gurado couponing module to create the discount codes & gift cards. Many email tools let you build these codes – even personalized ones – right into your email marketing.
Choose the occasions and where you place the codes in your emails carefully to get your discounts to customers and strengthen loyalty.
9. Use limited stock to your advantage
Show how many gift cards or tickets are left on your website. A sense of urgency makes buyers more likely to order right away.
10. Don't forget your employees: give them gift cards worth up to €50
Gift cards, rechargeable gift cards or customer cards (created with the loyalty module) also make great Christmas presents for your own staff. Reward your employees with a gift card for your own products or services, or offer them discounts in the form of coupons when they buy something from your business.
This has two advantages: you reward your employees for their loyalty and keep the spending within your own business. Not sure how to use employer gift cards for your staff? Read more here about the tax advantages and other benefits of €50 gift cards for your employees
11. Win new regular customers and focus on long-term customer relationships
In the run-up to Christmas, many orders are likely to come from new customers. The first sale is your first – and often last – chance to turn a one-time buyer into a regular. One way to bring them back is a discount for a purchase in, say, February, when the Christmas rush is over, or a gift card they can redeem during the summer lull. The same idea works before Christmas to boost your holiday sales even more.
Use every channel you have to nurture your customer relationships. Set up a loyalty program so customers collect points every time they buy from you.
Conclusion:
The run-up to Christmas is full of opportunities. Gift cards for restaurants, hotels and retail, or tickets for experiences, events or concerts are very popular gifts, especially between Black Friday and Christmas. It's also a great time to lay the groundwork for next year. With the right planning and a well-used gift card system, you can get the most out of your gift card marketing.
Good luck with your Christmas gift card sales – and if you have questions or want more tips, we're happy to help!
