It’s no secret that we see a lot of different gift card programs around here. Blackhawk Network is one of the biggest companies in the gift card industry so, one way or another, we get to see the numbers behind many different gift card displays.
We’ve found that, inch-for-inch, gift card displays can be one of the most profitable fixtures in any retail space. There’s a lot of variation, of course, but we’ve found that one factor makes the difference. There’s only one big difference between gift card programs that do just OK and gift card programs that generate awesome amounts of sales and foot traffic: merchandising.
Why merchandising matters
When stores invest in maintaining their displays, making them look attractive and well-organized, those displays make a lot more money. This is especially true for retailers that work to make sure their gift cards always stay in-stock. In our analysis of store gift card programs, we found that in 55% of cases where gift cards were out of stock, the gift cards needed to restock the display were already delivered and waiting in the back of the store.
"Inch-for-inch, gift card displays can be one of the most profitable fixtures in any retail space."
That means that whenever a customer came looking for a specific gift card and left disappointed, about half the time, that card was sitting in a box waiting to be hung on the pegs. That’s a real tragedy-for customers, for retailers, and even for the brand on the gift card!
Many of our clients find that they need a little help with the merchandising part of their gift card program. That’s why we offer dedicated gift card merchandising teams. “Dedicated,” as in, they only ever work on gift cards. Their experience and expertise makes them faster and better at restocking gift cards than other options used in the industry, like merchandisers who work on items across different categories.
How to perfect your merchandising
At BHN, we realized that we have a lot of experience in this area and a lot of tips and tricks to share. That’s why we wrote a new ebook entirely focused on merchandising: what it is, what it looks like and how to do it. We break down a lot of misconceptions in this ebook. For example, a lot of retailers think that they just don’t have the available floor space to run a good gift card program. We’ve got some ideas to help you turn any space into a new profit-center-even if it’s just a hidden corner and a weird support beam. We promise: we’ve seen great gift card displays come out the strangest spaces.
If you’re thinking about starting a gift card program and you want to do it right-or if you already have a program and you’re wondering why it isn’t doing as well as you hoped. Talk directly to one of our gift card program experts, call us at 888.920.2477.
