It’s hard to believe, but the holiday season is just around the corner. And for businesses that sell gift cards, now is a great time to start thinking about holiday orders. Between deciding on a design, planning out special offers, making sure everything arrives on time, there’s a lot that goes into holiday planning.
Gift cards are easy to overlook when there are so many other things to prepare for during the holiday rush. But gift cards play a crucial part of seasonal sales, for both the customer buying gifts and for a business looking to bring in more revenue. A little planning now can help make sure the cards, offers, and displays are ready when the customer is shopping.
Should the Design Be Seasonal?
The holiday season is a great time to change up gift card designs. Customers come in looking for gifts, so offering a gift card that matches their intentions can help the card feel like part of the occasion. The design changes can be simple, implementing some seasonal colors, winter patterns, or a small piece of holiday artwork. A well-designed holiday gift card should still feel like the brand, but a little more festive.
The decision really comes down to how the gift cards will be used. If most of the order is intended to be used all year round, then sticking with the standard branding makes sense. If the goal is to make the gift cards stand out during the holiday season or promote holiday offers, a seasonal card will make that vision come to life. Adding a holiday card keeps your brand feeling familiar but gives your customers a gift that fits better with the occasion.
The best option is to have both designs. Having both generic and seasonal designs allows for more flexibility for your customers to choose. This also keeps your brand relevant during the holiday season.
How Many Cards Should Be Ordered?
Looking at past sales will help determine how many gift cards to order. How many gift cards were sold last season? Which gift cards were sold the most? Were there enough gift cards to make it through the holiday season? Asking these questions can help the business determine how many gift cards to order for this upcoming year. And if you plan to offer a gift card special this year, plan to order more!
Ordering a larger quantity might seem like a big commitment, especially if they are seasonal designs, but gift cards can be used throughout the year or even packed away to be used the following year. There is always the option of having two designs too! You can order more of the standard gift cards and include some seasonal designed gift cards. This way, you are getting the best of both worlds: some standard gift cards you can use year-round and seasonal designs that you can use for the holiday season.
When Should Gift Cards Be Ordered?
The holiday season always seems to arrive faster than we expect. One minute, it’s the end of summer, and the next, customers are beginning to shop for the perfect holiday gift. For businesses ordering gift cards, now is the perfect time to check your stock and start placing orders early.
Typically, holiday gift card orders should be placed before November, with the middle to end of November being the latest target. Design approval, production, and shipping all take time, sometimes even longer than normal due to the influx of orders. Waiting till the middle or end of November can result in additional costs, like rush fees or expedited shipping, just to get the cards in time for the holidays. Ordering early allows flexibility and prevents any additional costs, while also giving you the option to start promoting gift cards during Black Friday.
It’s also important to think about what else will go with the gift cards. Think about if there will be a seasonal display, if there are matching carriers for the gift cards, or if any promotional material will be needed. Having all these seemingly small, but extremely important details together and ready to go will provide your business extra time for preparing your stores, double-checking inventory, and making small changes for the holiday season.
Adding Carriers for the Cards
Gift card carriers give the customer an easy way to package a gift card and carry the business’s branding beyond the gift card itself.
Gift card carriers should match your business’s brand and gift card design. They do not need to be exactly the same but think about including some of the same holiday colors or decor that fits with the style of the card and brand. The carriers should include a space for the customer to write who the gift is for, who it is from, how much it is on the gift card, and a short message.
When planning the order, think about how many gift cards you plan to order and ensure the design matches. Be sure to order extra carriers to account for any accidents like carriers getting ripped, a mistake made while writing a message, or a customer asking for an extra. Placing the card and carrier order together helps keep quantities, designs, and production timelines aligned.
Bundle Cards with Products
Gift cards can also be a way to bring attention to your business’s products and encourage customers to spend more. Pairing a gift card with a product or service creates another option for shoppers, especially those wanting to give something more than a gift card.
Making a bundle is easier than you think! Ask yourself: “What sells really well?”. A spa could pair a gift card with a popular lotion or skincare product. A retailer could offer a seasonal favorite with the gift card, while a restaurant might create a free dessert to go with the gift card. The bundle will vary based on the business, but starting with products customers love can make it easier to create a bundle that will sell.
Bundles can also help increase the total value of the purchase. A customer who already plans on buying a gift card may be interested in a premade bundle gift that includes a little something extra. There’s also the possibility that a customer comes in looking to get something for themselves, sees the bundles, and decides it would make a perfect gift for a loved one. The bundles create an opportunity to sell more while introducing customers to items they may purchase again after. Pricing here matters too. The bundle should make sense to your business and your customers while still leaving enough room for the business to make a profit.
Planning now gives your business enough time to pick the perfect bundles, test to see which ones sell better, make changes to pricing, and prepare for any extra packaging needed. Having the bundles promoted at the checkout counter makes it even easier for customers to see and think about.
Get Ahead of the Holiday Rush
There’s more to ordering holiday gift cards than deciding on a design and choosing the quantity. The timing, the number of cards needed, the packaging, and seasonal promotions all play an important part in being ahead of the holiday rush.
Starting early gives your businesses time to work through the details and place orders with time to spare. It also leaves room to explore seasonal designs, new carriers, or put bundles together to boost sales. With the holiday season just approaching, it’s worth getting the ball moving now rather than waiting till November.
At Vanguard ID, we are here to make these decisions a bit easier. Whether it’s answering questions about card design, ordering timelines, or finding the right option for your business, our team is happy to help.
