DESIGN

Gift Card Or Gift Certificate?

While many business owners see the opportunities and the increased profits that gift certificates provide, their close cousin the plastic gift card remains a novelty among small and medium enterprises. Plastic gift cards are found at most major supermarkets, national chains and department stores, however they offer a host of benefits in addition to simply looking nicer! We go through a few of them and examine how the cost-benefit ratio pans out with plastic gift card manufacturing versus gift certificates.

Value representation

You can interpret this as a fancy way of saying ‘they look nicer’ … but in terms of real profit potential, something that represents a higher value to consumers is much more likely to be bought. Customers have a gift which is more presentable, easier for their recipient to carry and can create its own atmosphere, depending on what artwork you choose for your gift card printing. That means you’ll sell more.

Theft is not an issue

Gift cards have no value until they are activated at the register. Your plastic card manufacturer can add a barcode or magnetic stripe to your product, which is scanned at the register and matches up with the corresponding entry in the store inventory. That particular gift card’s electronic imprint can be ‘activated’ in the central database, giving the card its value. A stolen gift card can not be used – a stolen gift certificate could cost your company quite a lot of money.

POS systems are not required for gift card security

Your plastic gift card manufacturing company can quite easily number your gift cards in series. Keep a record of each ‘numbered’ card which is sold, and you can refuse to redeem cards that are not on the register unless accompanied by a receipt. This makes plastic gift cards just as secure without a point of sale system and barcode scanner as with them. Gift card printing that doesn’t need an magnetic stripe along the top is cheaper, also.

Added security makes in-store and POS display possible

Stores utilising traditional paper gift certificates cannot display these at the point of sale, no matter how nice they look! Theft and forgery would always be an issue for paper gift certificates. Displaying those gift cards at the point of sale has been shown to increase impulse buys of the cards. Gift card printing services can create some very attractive special effects and designs for your cards that help target these impulse buys to a niche audience – flowers for women, cars for men, and dolls for little girls, for example.

Gaining money without sales

One interesting study showed that 15% of gift cards sold are never redeemed. This means that the only stock that has changed hands for a potential value of $20, $50 or $100 is a plastic gift cards worth a few cents.

Price difference is negligible

It is possible to self-print gift certificates, but as we mentioned earlier the perceived value is not there. To have the same perceived value with paper gift certificates, you need to get them professionally made anyway. The price difference between quality paper and plastic card printing is actually negligible, particularly if you use a specialist plastic gift card manufacturer.

About the Author

Whether you are looking for 500 or 5,000,000 cards, Cardcorp has the expertise and capabilities to meet your demands.  With an extensive range of products and processes, Cardcorp can create any type of card that you require. For that unique finish, Cardcorp can also manufacture non standard cards such as cards cut in a custom shape, over or under sized cards and holes or slots in the card. For more information or to view our range, visit Loyalty Cards .

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