Sell Restaurant Gift Cards Everyday!

Sell Restaurant Gift Cards Everyday!

Sales of gift cards have risen 47% in the past five years, according to a new report by advisory company CEB TowerGroup. But more than $1 billion on gift cards still goes unredeemed annually, says Brian Riley, research director with CEB TowerGroup.

Most restaurants sell gift cards for the holidays, but why not sell them everyday?  If you think gift cards only sell during the holidays you are missing a big opportunity everyday!  Gift card programs build your brand, increases revenue, reduces cash refunds, welcomes new customers and generates an interest free loan from your future customer.

71% of customers shopping with a gift card spend 45% more than their gift card value.  10% to 15% of all gift card sales are never redeemed for the full value of their gift card.  Nearly 60% of consumers asked for gift cards during the 2013 holiday season, are you getting your share of gift card sales?

Gift Card Occasions:

Anniversary

Baby Shower

Birthday

Bo voyage

Boss’s Day

Bridal Shower

Bridesmaid

Christmas

Cinco de Mayo

Easter

Engagement

Father’s Day

Get Well

Groomsman

Halloween

Hanukkah

House Warming

Independence Day

Kwanzaa

Mother’s Day

Office Warming

Promotion

Secretary’s Day

Thank You

Thanksgiving

Valentines Day

Veteran’s Day

Wedding

Are you promoting gift cards year round?  Your customers are giving them year round!

Why do customers like gift cards?  Gift cards are a great last minute purchase.  Plus the gift card amount is determined by the giver and gift cards are available almost everywhere.

Why do restaurants like gift cards?  Restaurants like gift cards for several reasons; they are quick and easy to sell, provide an interest free loan to the restaurant, generate free advertising, create new customers and are usually a very profitable sale at the time of redemption.

Are you selling gift cards everyday?  Customers are purchasing gift cards everyday and you should be promoting them everyday!  Sure table tents, posters and digital signage are a must but what about your menu, flyers, customer receipts, website and social media campaigns?  Some merchants reward customer purchases with a bonus gift card when they purchase a preset dollar amount, what about staff contests?  Sell $500 in gift cards in a two week period for a $20 bonus or sell $1,000 in gift cards in a two week period for a $50 bonus!  What about working with a charity or a fund raising event?  Market gift cards for all the occasions we have discussed, this is a great way to put cash in the bank when things are slow!

If you have not been selling gift cards, contact your restaurant POS provider or your credit card provider for a gift card program!  Most restaurant POS providers have an integrated program for gift cards, check out thisarticle from Maitre’D for more year round gift card sales ideas.  Most credit card processors provide gift card programs, Mercury Payment has a free program for their customers and the Heartland program can integrate with their loyalty program, check out this video.  Of course you could use a paper gift certificate but these are often cumbersome to deal with both at the time of sale and at the time of redemption, plus they are very vulnerable to fraud!

For a complete listing of restaurant POS features, options and additional information regarding restaurant POS systems and their important role, download our free white paper “POS and a Whole Lot More” and take a look at our detailed list of Restaurant POS Features and Options.