If you want to increase your revenue, improve your online visibility, and gain more loyal consumers in the mix, offering gift cards in your wholesale business is a quick and easy way to go.
However, the gift card industry is always moving. As the way people buy, use, and manage gift cards constantly changes, store owners face the challenge of keeping up with these new trends and technologies.
This article will walk you through five easy steps to set up a gift card system in your wholesale store. We will also elaborate on why you should start upscaling your business through digital WooCommerce Gift Cards.
How Digital Gift Cards Work
A gift card is a type of payment that consumers can use at retail stores, gas stations, restaurants, and other businesses. You put money onto the card, which you or the gift card recipient can then use at any location that accepts it.
Digital gift cards, on the other hand, use a unique and automated code for redeeming options.
This code can be sent via emails and messaging systems or simply published on websites or online storefronts. Unlike the typical physical gift vouchers, digital gift cards are much more convenient. After all, consumers may obtain and redeem them while sitting at home or on the go!
Advantages Of Digital Gift Cards
Before delving deeper into the technicalities, let’s talk about why you should add gift cards to your marketing mix.
For starters, consumers love giving or receiving gifts. This is one of the primary reasons why gift cards come in handy, especially during the holiday season.
According to Mageplaza, many customers spend more than the gift card’s value, resulting in more business sales. In addition, the National Retail Federation’s Holiday Consumer Spending Survey also found that gift cards have been the most-asked-for gift item.
Here are some more reasons why you can’t miss out on this business growth opportunity:
1. Gift cards help improve your brand awareness
Anything that gets your brand or emblem in front of the public is a bonus for online store owners, especially beginners or small-timers. Gift cards are a terrific way to get your brand out since customers send them to their friends and family.
2. Gift cards can improve your cash flow
During a sales slump, selling gift cards is a way to keep your business afloat.
However, regardless of when the consumers redeem the cards, the money used to buy them goes straight to you. This creates a new stream of revenue and increases cash flow.
Hence, when sales slow down or there’s an emergency, having a gift card program can hold your business to the ground.
3. A gift card program can generate repeat business
It’s simple to run marketing or promotions to attract new consumers or get recurring business once you’ve set up gift cards.
Furthermore, it’s a significant plus if someone buys a gift card and offers it to a friend or family member who has never visited your shop before. You may also give a customer credit for their future purchase after they’ve spent their gift card.
4. You can use gift cards to incentivize and reward your consumers
Any business owner will tell you that recruiting new consumers is costly.
Loyalty and reward programs nurture existing customer relationships, which help to maximize the returns on marketing efforts. According to Bain & Company, even a 5% increase in client retention can enhance 25–95% profitability!
Delivering prizes in gift cards is a perfect way to get into it if you want to boost your retention rate.
5. It’s easy to set up and launch a gift card program
Setting up or purchasing gift cards is usually a straightforward process. It can be as quick and painless as clicking a few buttons to activate an electronic gift card tool.
In WooCommerce, for example, there are several gift card plugins that you can use. The only challenge will be choosing the best one to help you scale your business efficiently.
How To Use Gift Cards In Your Wholesale Store
Gift cards no longer have the time, cost, or redemption limitations that used to make them painful to implement. The new reality is that putting together a gift card system for your small business is affordable and straightforward.
Here are five easy steps that can help you get started as soon as possible:
1. Think of what kind of gift card best suits your business model
There are several types of gift cards you can offer in your business; all you have to do is determine your money’s worth.
Some examples of gift cards you can start incorporating into your store are:
- Single Store Gift Cards
- Family of Stores Gift Cards
- Multi-store Gift Cards
- Reward Gift Cards
- Birthday or Customer Milestone Gift Card
- and many more!
2. Familiarize yourself with gift card laws
Gift card laws and regulations differ from one location to the next. You can start by consulting a local tax or legal professional to learn about any restrictions related to your business. For instance, whether or not to charge tax or how long a gift card must be valid.
(Gift cards in California, for example, do not have an expiration date.)
If you want to learn more, the National Conference of State Legislatures delves into the specifics of each state’s gift card rules.
3. Review your data and conceptualize a gift card scheme
Millennials are the most frequent purchasers of gift cards, followed by Gen-Xers (28%) and baby boomers (22%).
According to gift card demographics, the typical gift card buyer is a married woman without children. In addition, half of all gift card buyers in the United States (50%) live in suburban areas, with 68% of them being homeowners.
Mageplaza
Especially when it comes to launching or integrating a new program into your existing online system, support data is vital to guaranteeing accuracy.
In this case, knowing the figures provided above can help you conceptualize a more relevant gift card scheme that will more likely convert.
For example, by knowing that about 37% of millennials make up gift buyers, you can curate promos or designs specifically for them.
This application will be more helpful when you have your own business or market data.
4. Install a gift card plugin in your wholesale WooCommerce store
You’ll almost certainly need an app or integration to start selling gift cards. This plugin will allow you to efficiently create, sell, redeem, and track digital gift cards.
This can also help you provide your customers with a better gift card experience. Likewise, you may send personalized digital gift cards and vouchers to recipients via email or text message.
In WooCommerce, the best way to set up a gift card program is to use the Advanced Gift Cards plugin. This is a premium plugin designed to be a simple-to-use yet more comprehensive gift card solution.
Apart from being extremely efficient, Advanced WooCommerce Gift Cards offers a variety of design and personalization options. In addition, this plugin is fully automated, so once you’ve clicked all of the green buttons, you can sit back and watch your sales skyrocket!
If you want to know more about Advanced Gift Cards, check out their Getting Started Guide for a more in-depth overview and tutorial of this excellent product.
5. Add a personal touch with your gift cards
If you want to take gift cards to the next level, add a personal touch to them. Instead of giving out a random store or branded gift card, design a gift card product like you’d choose a gift for someone.
Creating a story around them is one way to add a personal touch to your gift cards. For example, if Mother’s Day is fast approaching, put together a Mother’s Day special gift card.
You can also make your customers feel more valued by celebrating their birthdays or milestones (500th purchase) with a personalized theme card!
Conclusion
Gift cards are a popular choice among consumers for various reasons, including convenience, purchasing flexibility, choice opportunity, and consistent gift-recipient redeemability!
Gift cards are even more appealing to businesses like yours. Retailers use vouchers worldwide to raise awareness and increase sales. On top of that, these can also help you engage your clients and keep them coming back by incorporating them into your marketing mix.
Overall, gift cards are a win-win product to offer. In today’s post, we summarized the advantages of gift cards, which include:
- Gift cards help improve your brand awareness
- Gift cards can improve your cash flow
- A gift card program can generate repeat business
- You can use gift cards to incentivize and reward your consumers
- It’s easy to set up and launch a gift card program
In addition, we discussed five easy steps to help you get started with your gift card program:
- Think of what kind of gift card best suits your business model
- Familiarize yourself with gift card laws
- Review your data and conceptualize a gift card scheme
- Install a gift card plugin in your wholesale WooCommerce store
- Add a personal touch with your gift cards
If you want to know more or have any questions about gift cards, comment below.
