The benefits of using gift cards to increase your customer loyalty

In the retail environment competition is fierce meaning that it is more difficult to generate loyalty amongst your customers, so finding new ways to do this is key to your success.

One great way to build loyalty is with gift cards. Selling gift cards allows you to:  

• Expand your reach
• Create additional touch points
• Encourage repeat visits
• Provide opportunity for brand advocacy,
• Build trust
• Develop an emotional attachment with your brand

By achieving these you not only develop a strong relationship with your customers, but you also lay the groundwork for a loyal customer base as customers are more likely to return to your brand time and time again.

While gift cards are not the only way to boost loyalty, they hold significant value, with an estimated £9billion market in 2025. Gift cards also offer benefits that set them apart as the best solution for your business. Let’s explore why they could be the best way for you to increase customer loyalty.

Easy to sell

Boosting loyalty is an ongoing priority for many businesses but with limited time, capabilities and budgets it can often get overlooked. Selling gift cards via your ecommerce platform is a simple, budget friendly solution that enables you to increase sales and generate loyalty without having the need for extra or specialised work.

No complex campaigns or sales tactics – gift cards do the hard work for you.  

Gift cards act as a new offering without the need to invest in a huge new range of products, they don’t expire or go out of fashion and are the choice of gift for many occasions such as birthdays, Mother’s Day and Valentine’s Day meaning they practically sell themselves.

Enhance your brand image

Selling gift cards is a great way to create brand awareness. As a simple and popular choice for celebrations such as birthdays, Christmas and graduations, gift cards expand your reach and put your brand in front of new audiences. 

Every existing customer who buys a gift card could lead you to a new potential customer helping to build brand awareness and provide the opportunity to nurture loyalty among new customers. Additionally, receiving a gift card from someone comes with a stamp of approval of this brand. This helps to build trust between your brand and the new customers, which can play a pivotal role in customers becoming loyal to your brand rather than a casual shopper.

This scenario has huge potential; every new customer you convert holds the opportunity to further expand your reach and create more loyal customers, essentially creating a chain effect that can allow you to broaden your reach and compete with household names.

Increase revenue

Gift cards are a simple way to get customers to return to your store.It is fairly common that gift card shoppers will split the value of the card over multiple trips, enabling you to make use of the additional touchpoints they will be exposed to through their repeated visits and purchases, without it feeling like a forced marketing approach. 

Studies show that gift card users are also highly likely to spend more than their card value generating additional revenue. By encouraging customers to visit and spend more they are likely to become accustomed to your product range and quality, turning shopping with you into a regular habit which can evolve into a more loyal long-term customer relationship.

The future of gift cards

As the ecommerce industry continues to grow it’s important that you set your business apart from the competition, whether it’s a small business or a household name you don’t want to be losing customers to the competition. That’s why generating customer loyalty is so important, and gift cards make it simple.

With digital gift cards helping you to boost sales while generating brand awareness and building trust you can be confident that you’re setting your business up for future success with a growing, loyal customer base.  To make things even simpler you can sell your gift cards through EKM, so you don’t have to worry about anything, no fuss, just another product on your site.

Want to learn how EKM can help you leverage gift cards sales in order to boost loyalty? Book a demo today!