How to Make Gift Cards for Your Business: A Complete Guide

In the wake of the global pandemic, the closure of non-essential businesses, a decrease in footfall to essential businesses and a decline in consumer spending has had a massive impact on the economy. Although companies of all sizes have been affected, small businesses have been hit the hardest. 

Although there has and continues to be government support for these businesses, including a £4.6b government support package, where small business owners in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors can apply for a one-off grant of £9000 and small business loans. There are still a number of things business owners can do to take matters into their own hands and increase the footfall to their shops and restaurants. One of the quickest and simplest ways is by selling gift cards online and in stores.

In the last year gift cards have become increasingly popular. This is because, as well as using them in brick-and-mortar businesses when they were up and running, customers could also use them online when we were in a national lockdown. As well as being a great option for picky friends and office parties, gift cards have recently been used in other ways such as managing spending habits and purchasing cryptocurrency. According to the latest analysis by the Gift Card & Voucher Association (GCVA) and KPMG UK, digital and eVoucher sales grew by 49.7% on a rolling year basis [1]. 

Although many small businesses have now re-opened their doors again, gift cards still appear to be an increasingly popular choice. In fact, according to ResearchAndMarkets, the gift card market in the UK will increase from ~£5.9 (US$ 8,034.2) in 2019 to reach ~£8.2m (US$ 11,285.8m) by 2024 [2].

As you can see, there’s never been a better time to incorporate gift cards into your small business. So, if you’re ready to cash in on the opportunity, keep reading. We’ll discuss the benefits of making gift cards for your business and then give you some examples of how you can do this. 

Benefits of Making Gift Cards for your Business

New and Return Customers

Making gift cards for your business is a great way to drive new customers as they work similarly to a refer a friend scheme. People who already shop with you can introduce their friends and family, who may not have been inclined to visit your business, by gifting them with a digital/physical card on special occasions. 

Gift cards are also a great way to secure regular shoppers. A recent survey carried out by the GCVA found that 43% of shoppers have made a one-off purchase from a business after receiving a gift card, and a further 22% have become a regular customer.

TIP: Some gift cards require customers to fill out their contact information to set up the card. This is a great way to get customers to return back to your store because you can then begin sharing any promotions your business is having through marketing channels. 

Increased Spending 

As well as bringing more footfall to your small business, gift cards are also a great way to maximise profits at your business. People who buy gift cards are much more likely to spend more money than they would on an actual gift as they’ll tend to round up. Your customers who are redeeming the gift cards are also much more likely to spend more than they usually would. A recent survey carried out by Fiserv found that 33% of people have admitted to spending more on gift cards than they would an actual gift [3]. Plus, gift cards drive customers to spend £18.55 more when they redeem them [4]. 

Advertising Your Brand

As a small business owner, you know how important it is to advertise your brand and get your name and logo out there. There are some great ways you can market your business on a budget and drive more customers. One way is by using gift cards. A good gift card will support your brand colours, fonts and logos so wherever they go they are always advertising your business. As they contain a monetary value, they’ll also be much more looked after than a regular business card. 

How to Make Gift Cards for Your Business

Now that you’ve got a better idea of why you should be making gift cards for your business,  it’s time to find out how to do this. As a small business owner, you may not have the budget to spend money on physical gift cards. These can also be pretty costly and not very simple to set up. Instead, we’ll share some simple ways you can make a digital gift for your business. 

Standalone Gift Card Apps 

Download any standalone gift card app from the app store and you can be selling gift cards to your customers within minutes. These apps let you create, sell and track online gift cards from your mobile device and dashboard. 

Some popular apps that lots of businesses use are:

Gift Up: This app allows your customers to buy gift cards/ certificates for your services and products directly from your website. The application only takes 5-minutes to set up and you can sell in any currency and on your social media channels.

GiftFly: Download on your mobile device and sell gift cards from anywhere to anyone. Giftfly allows you to design your own gift cards so that can promote your brand. 

Yiftee: Yiftee’s eGift Cards are simple to set up from any mobile device. Once you have your platform you’ll be able to create custom-branded eGift Cards, offers, rewards and incentives

Epos Now’s Complete All-in-One Solution

As well as using your mobile device, you can also create an online gift card program that integrates with your POS system. 

Lots of cloud-based POS systems offer this functionality, by either having their own gift card service or integrating with third-party gift car apps. Setting up a gift card service directly through your POS is quick, easy and very affordable.

With Epos Now’s complete POS system, you can integrate all of your must-have apps, including gift card applications like Shopify. 

Contact our sales team to see how to create a loyalty scheme that leverages the power of Epos Now.

The Bottom Line

We know the global epidemic has been hard on small business owners. But when it comes to running your company, it’s important that you feel empowered and ready to take control. As well as covid-proofing your business, introducing new initiatives into your business is a great way to improve your business’ cash flow. Gift cards are a quick, cheap and effective way to maximise your profits, increase footfall and market your business’ brand. All you need is a mobile device or a POS system.