With the holiday season fast approaching retailers are starting to roll out their new line of gift card offerings. I never paid much attention to gift card packaging myself, until Structural Graphics started designing really neat dimensional gift card holders several years ago. We worked on several projects with very large retailers and it sort of spiraled out of control from there. Our design department was having a field day creating new pop-up gift card holders.
Of course, the main objective for any retailer is to get their gift cards noticed in the stores. When customers buy gift cards it is instant profit for the retailer. Furthermore, recipients of gift cards tend to spend an average of 25 – 50% more than the dollar value of the gift card*. But the good news doesn’t end there. With an average of $65 Billion spent each year on gift cards a cool $6.8 Billion is left unredeemed*!
It’s clear why gift cards are smart business for retailers, but there are also two key advantages to a high-impact gift card holder.
First, it creates a personal experience with the shopper. Buying a gift card can seem like a fairly impersonal gift, but by adding the creativity and design element into the gifting experience, you make it personal. This alone will attract more buyers to your gift cards and of course a greater return on your gift card business.
The second key advantage is how high-impact gift card holders strengthen your brand. A great example of this is the Victoria’s Secret LOVE gift card line. Structural Graphics designed a gift card holder using the patented Extendo® mechanism. The design allowed for plenty of room for flashy graphics and an interesting user experience. This example also demonstrates a good way to create a strong brand connection with the recipient. The result is fast redemption rates and higher dollar purchases in the store.
What’s more, if your gift card line is offered at a Gift Card Mall, where you’re competing for attention on the rack, the high-impact gift card holder will win every time.
Like most other industries, the gift card/incentive industry has evolved with the times. Sure, you can produce nice little plastic cards and put them in a standard one-fold cardboard holder. It works. But, once you take a look at what is available and the solutions we can provide, you’ll quickly realize that by keeping your gift card program original or plain, you’re leaving money on the table. That’s just as silly as an unredeemed gift card.
You can see some examples of our gift card work or request samples here.
*Statistics taken TowerGroup research.
