How to promote gift cards to last-minute shoppers year-round

Throughout the year, people are buying gifts for a variety of occasions and holidays. From Valentine’s Day to Mother’s Day, there are many reasons why people are looking for that perfect gift year round. And with every holiday comes something that customers dread - shipping deadlines and last-minute shopping. After all, life gets in the way sometimes and you don’t always remember to order something to arrive on time. 


During the holiday season, 51% of shoppers in one survey said they buy gifts on Christmas Eve. In general, 45% of Gen Z shoppers say that they’ve made last-minute purchases in the past 6 months. Only 23% overall across all age demographics said that they haven’t made any last-minute purchases. When buying last-minute gifts, 1 in 3 shoppers will choose based on how soon they can get their purchase. Last-minute shopping is a huge opportunity for merchants to secure new sales and customers. 


The solution isn’t to keep promoting physical gifts, as that leaves your customers with the classic “I ordered you something but it didn’t arrive” come the day they plan to give the gift. Instead, it’s time to offer those customers something simple, effective, and instant - gift cards.


Gift cards are a highly desirable gift in general. They’re an easy option for customers - gift cards are instant, so there are no shipping issues, and they allow the recipient to pick whatever they want most. As for merchants, gift cards are simple to promote, automatically fulfilled, and great for post-holiday retention.

 

#1 - Make the most of your communication channels

 

First thing’s first - if you want customers to consider buying gift cards, you need to build awareness. Most customers will be aware that brands sell gift cards, however they won’t always be front of mind when looking for a gift even if it’s last minute and seems the most obvious option with limited time. 


There are three communication channels where you can engage with potential customers about your gift cards - social media, email marketing, and SMS marketing. 


Social media - Schedule posts on your best performing platforms highlighting your gift cards. Include unique features like personalization options, delayed delivery, and so on. 


Email marketing - Your email subscribers are your most engaged, valuable audience. They’re more likely to convert, and they’re more likely to actually pay attention to your content. That’s why it’s important to get a couple of emails scheduled to target key dates in the run up to the holidays, for example Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day and so on. If you have the data, you can also target customers around specific special occasions like birthdays. For example, if you have specific product bundles for gifts, or if they selected gift wrapping/notes on an order you could send an email around the same time the following year about your gift cards.


SMS marketing - If you already utilize SMS marketing, then this is a highly effective channel to make use of this close to the holiday season. On average, SMS marketing has a 98% open rate and US consumers who sign up for SMS marketing are 87% more likely to make a purchase. You can send concise marketing messages to customers and know they’ll almost definitely see it if not engage with it.

 

#2 - Target specific customer segments

 

If you want to get really specific with your email and SMS audience, you could consider some basic segmentation. That way you can tailor the content and messaging to speak directly to that customer and their habits, and perhaps make it more likely they’ll purchase a gift card. 


Some segments to consider in the run up to specific events and holidays include:


  • Existing customers who haven’t yet purchased anything 

  • Existing customers who have browsed your store within the last week

  • Existing customers who have previously purchased a gift card

  • Subscribers who have browsed or abandoned a cart recently 

 

With these segments, you can fine-tune your approach with regards to the kind of content that will resonate best with each audience. You can also potentially offer incentives to purchase, such as a buy-one-get-one for loyal customers, or offering bonus loyalty points on gift card purchases. 

 

#3 - Promote gift cards across your website

 

Visibility is key when it comes to gift cards. It isn’t enough to assume that customers will know you have a gift card and take the initiative to find it themselves. After all, they might not immediately think of buying one. When they’re shopping last minute, they want it to be simple and fast to find that perfect gift. Consider then adding your gift card to key areas throughout your site, especially when time is ticking for certain occasions and holidays.


Site Banner - Utilize site features like banners and your homepage to communicate with customers about gift cards being available. Banners will follow them as they navigate your website. 


Product Pages - Consider adding a feature to product or catalog pages that link through to gift cards. Amazon do this by communicating if a product will arrive on time, which date it will arrive instead, and link through to buy a gift card instead.


Main navigation - Adding gift cards to your primary navigation will help draw more attention than simply having them in your catalog. You could also create a gifting section that includes gift cards, if you sell other products like bundles or gift sets. 


#4 - Run a gift card promotion 

 

Running promotions is always a good way to grab attention - after all, customers love to grab a bargain or snag a freebie from their favorite brands. You can shine the spotlight on gift cards by running a promotion in the lead up to a holiday or event. 


One option is to run a buy-one-get-one promotion. In other words, match gift card purchases with one of equal value. Another way to do this is fixed value when a customer spends a certain amount on a gift card - so if a customer spends $x on a gift card, they get a second worth $y. For example, spend $50 on a gift card and get another one worth $25. This allows customers to either gift both and allow their recipient to spend more, or they might keep one for themselves and you’ll have two customers to market to in the future. You could also create special offers for customers where you have data about occasions like birthdays and anniversaries and send them via email to encourage them to buy a gift card. For example, a percentage off a gift card purchase, or a top up offer. 


Running these promotions will not only draw attention to your gift cards, but encourage people to spend more on them.  


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Last-minute shopping is often something we think most about when it comes to the end of year holiday season. However the opportunity exists year-round, from a variety of holidays to events and occasions. By putting more emphasis on gift cards as an attractive, simple gifting option, you could make the most of last-minute shopping no matter which holiday or event is coming up next.


Want to improve your gift card experience? Check out Govalo in the Shopify App Store.

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