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Gift card

Tis the Season of Gift Card Sales

Restaurant News predicts that at least 81% of consumers will purchase some sort of gift card this holiday season.  With statistics like this, it’s time to take a close look at your gift card promotion and make sure it is working for you in the long run. One way to make the gift cards work for you is to think of them not only as a great way to generate some much needed income during the holiday season, but to help supplement your business during the slower months.

With so many options out there, how can you reign in those Christmas gift card sales?  For example, many restaurant chains offer an additional gift card after purchasing a specific denomination of gift cards, i.e. $20 free gift card with the purchase of $100.00 worth of gift cards.  What the consumer learns when receiving their free $20.00 gift card is this card is only valid until the end of the following month.  This can help promote some much needed traffic to a restaurant when they are typically slower in January and the beginning of February.

Gift cards are now treated like cash in many states, meaning they have no expiration date.  The reason the above promotion works is because you are giving the additional gift card as an incentive, not as something that was purchased.  It’s quite genius and works well for the companies who use this promotion.

With gift card sales accounting for approximately 35 – 40% of total sales of a business for the year, it makes sense that your company has an aggressive gift card program in place this season.

Need help coming up with your own gift card program?  Please contact our team of consultants at IRHC Group today.

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IRHC Group is a hospitality consulting firm that offers restaurant consulting services, hotel consulting services, retail consulting services, workshops and seminars.  Our Restaurant, Retail, & Hospitality consultants have achieved proven success in the restaurant, retail, hospitality and hotel/resort/casino industries.