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CoverStory

Data indicates consumers on both sides of the gifting
equation prefer gift cards to traditional gifts. Among Six in 10 shoppers recently surveyed
those surveyed by First Data Corp. for its 2018 Prepaid Con- by Coresight Research said they're
sumer Insights Study, givers dedicate more than half their concerned tariffs on goods from China
gift spending (55 percent) to cards, and spend on average
33 percent more on gift cards than they would on a tradi- will cause spikes in holiday gift prices
tional gift. this year. Yet Coresight found most aren't

On the receiving side, 47 percent of surveyed consumers planning to boost holiday shopping
said they'd prefer a physical gift card over any other gift. budgets to account for these price hikes.
Perhaps more importantly, for every gift card purchased
last year recipients spent a whopping $59 more than the
original value of the card, a $21 increase from 2017.
Demke-Calixte agreed. "To compete with the big players
"Gift cards are an amazing customer acquisition and you really need to do something unique," she said. She rec-
brand awareness tool – and incredible revenue genera- ommends clients use gift cards as a way to reward loyal
tors," said Theresa McEndree, vice president, marketing at customers, and to win back those who may be dissatis-
Blackhawk Network. Among the most popular gift card fied. "If someone is upset about a product or service, [the
categories this time of year, based on Blackhawk's sales merchant can] give them a gift card to get them back in,"
data, are dining (movie and a meal), movies, sporting she noted, adding that financially, it's better than simply
goods, beauty supplies, and specialty home goods. returning cash or reversing a card transaction.

And while most consumers prefer plastic, egift cards are Up your sales game by pitching on urgency
gaining in popularity. Blackhawk reported four categories
of egift cards gained significant traction last year: office The lead up to the holidays is also a good time for ISOs
supplies, groceries, general entertainment and travel. and MLSs to emphasize price. "For those agents pitching
savings, they should remind the merchant that the poten-
"This is the time of year when gift card programs, loyalty tial for savings during the holiday season is dramatically
reward programs and data collection will stand out the higher than it is at any other time of the year," Shepherd
most," said James Shepherd, president of CCSales Pro and said. "If you're offering 20 percent savings, that 20 percent
co-host of the Merchant Sales Podcast. is twice as valuable if revenue will be doubled for a given
period of time."
Shepherd said data collection is an often overlooked tool
that benefits MLSs and merchants alike. The lead up to Shepherd also counseled to not be disappointed if a pros-
the year-end holidays is an excellent time to pitch mer- pect takes a pass, but not to give up either. "Once you de-
chants on the value of collecting good data on customers, cide on a path that will increase urgency to help you close
he noted. more deals over the holidays, remember there are many
business owners who will not buy," he said. "They are sim-
"Small business owners realize that they should be col- ply not going to engage you in a conversation, regardless
lecting customer data at the point of sale," Shepherd said. of the value proposition."
"This includes email and mobile phone numbers. They
know that they could be leveraging this data for market- Shepherd recommended offering specials after the holi-
ing down the road." day season as a way to get another shot at selling to these
business. "When I was an agent, I would always create a
The trick is to offer integrated POS systems that allow one-day or even one-week special around January 15, and
them to collect this data and easily leverage it. "When a when I wasn't able to sell a merchant during the holidays
prospective merchant tries to put you off until after the I'd tell them about my yearly special offer and explain that
holidays, remind them that by installing your integrated I would return at that time," he said.
technology solution they will collect more data from cus-
tomers, and that after the holidays you will return to show As for existing customers, this is a good time of year to
them how to leverage this data with a loyalty program," promote networking among different clients, said Demke-
Shepherd advised. Calixte. She added that EPNA always tries to connect cli-
ents in complementary business lines and offered printers
Several technology solutions help on this count, Shepherd and restaurants as an example.
noted. "It's time to brush up on the various email and text
marketing apps that your POS solution has to offer," he Patti Murphy is senior editor at The Green Sheet and president of
said. ProScribes Inc. Follow her on Twitter @GS_PayMaven.

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