A Quick Guide To Help You Cash In This Holiday Season
Co-Written by Andrew Cauthorn, Marketing Specialist at DataLogic
Hey retailers! The holidays are fast approaching – are you ready? This festive time of year presents the perfect opportunity to delight customers while increasing their loyalty to your brand. We’ve all experienced the hell known as holiday shopping, starting with the infamous Black Friday. Stress runs high on both sides. Competitors are trying to poach your customers away with that impressive advertising campaign or a seemingly huge slash on prices. How do you compete and retain customer loyalty?
Ensure Your Biggest Fans Never Stray
It’s important to always have a strong pulse on the behaviours and purchasing habits of your most loyal customers. Win them over with an attractive loyalty program that rewards your best customers, all while being affordable and highly intuitive for you and your employees.
Can you guess where holiday shoppers will want to visit next year? Probably the store that offers them the best all-around experience, from providing great deals on the most popular merchandise to rewards based on their loyalty to your brand.
Top tip: promote your loyalty program during the holiday rush to rake up your loyal customers’ points. Then let them reap the rewards during the quieter periods later on in the year. This will allow you to nurture your newly converted loyalty customers while ensuring that they choose your brand every time – regardless of the time of year.
Rake In The Profits With Gift Cards
The other part of your holiday strategy should include gift cards. Contrary to popular belief, people actually enjoy receiving gift cards. Yes, people sometimes feel guilty when they gift a gift card but did you know that 55% of consumers would prefer to receive a gift card over physical gifts?
A new survey by INCOMM shows that 95 % of consumers expect to give two or more gift cards in 2016. Moreover, Christmas is the most popular holiday for giving a gift card, with 87 % of consumers planning to give a gift card that day.
The value of a gift card extends beyond the dollar amount loaded onto the card. A gift card gives your company an opportunity to win business. Sure, a percentage of gift card users are repeat customers, but have you considered the amount of new customers and old customers who haven’t paid a visit for years that may visit? The benefits don’t stop here.
Consumers pay up front for a gift card so your business always receives the full amount. You don’t lose revenue because gift card recipients forget about or lose their card. The icing on the cake? Over half of gift card holders spend 38% more than the card’s value. The card holder would need to find the right combination to spend the exact amount on the card, which seems pretty difficult to do. Hence, gift cards are an obvious win-win for your business.
Beat Out Your Competitors
Gift shoppers want to shop as much as you want to work during the holidays. Offer your customers the best rewards to gain their loyalty in the future. And don’t forget about gift cards! Sell them, track them, and notice the great revenue maker they can be.
Get more information on Paystone’s loyalty programs or gift card programs to win big this holiday season!