Today substantial numbers of Australian retailers are issuing and selling their own pre-paid gift cards. This market is thought to be worth at least $1 billion a year, and it is growing at 20% per annum. What makes it, particularly profitable to retailers is that a large number will not be claimed.
In general, Australians seem to love these gift cards as their recipients can pick their own gift. I know from personal experience. I could not figure out what to buy my niece. So I brought her a $100 gift voucher and gave it to her, with the words "Its no longer my problem what you want it's your problem."
Many of my clients now use our point-of-sale system to sell their own gift cards. It's a simple function on the main menu. Press a few buttons and out prints a gift voucher.
Nor is it hard to advertise, all you need is a simple sign to remind your customers that you have them. Note if you have a website or facebook page, I suggest you put it up there too.
The most popular gift card denomination is $25 followed by $50.
Here are some tips that people use that sell gift cards.
1) Entice buyers with a bonus say 10% to use for themselves. So what you do here is for a $50 gift voucher, you issue a bonus offer of $5.
2) Rather than give charity money, give them a gift voucher to entice them to shop with you.
I think you will find most gift card buyers, and recipients good customers some studies show they buy about 30% more with the gift card.
Marketing your own gift cards adds another opportunity for shoppers to buy and our system can do it for you.
Update: here is an interesting article that among other points discuss one of my clients use of gift voucher (link removed).
