Now more than ever, consumers and their families are finding themselves homebound—whether by choice or out of necessity. Here are five ideas you can leverage to help them stave off boredom and remain productive at work—and stay engaged with your brand with strategic gift card promotions.
Tip 1: Extended Spring Break
For every kid that began their spring vacations early, there’s a parent looking for ways to keep them occupied and entertained. Step up your special gift card promotions around streaming services, gaming, toys, eBooks and snacks to help keep kids happy (and their parents sane) at home.
Tip 2: Expanding Your Toolbox
There’s never been a better time to add to your skill set. Meal kit subscription services are an easy way to learn how to whip up a restaurant-quality meal from your kitchen; consider offering egifts for these services to help make subscribing a piece of cake. Special offers on home goods and supplies will encourage DIYers to tackle that special project they’ve been putting off.
Tip 3: Support working from home as the new norm
Seasoned remote workers and new telecommuters alike will want to make their time at home productive, so stocking up on office supplies and equipment will be ever-present on their To-Do lists. Help them check an item off by offering special promotions around office supplies and computer equipment. eGifts for food delivery services like Door Dash and GrubHub will be especially welcome among these groups when they’re up against a big deadline or need a quick bite to eat.
Tip 4: Promote home delivery and BOPIS
It’s never been easier for consumers to streamline their shopping experience. For those short on time or who don’t want to leave the comfort of their homes (or cars!), online shopping with delivery or BOPIS—buy online, pick up in-store—are the way to go. Consider incenting your customers with free eGift card for online or mobile orders with delivery or if they opt to place their orders digitally and pick up at your store.
Tip #5: Smoothing over cancelled plans
Having the big music fest on a bucket list get cancelled or a child’s birthday party postponed can be frustrating and disappointing. Encourage your customers to send a gift card via email to help ease the pain their family and friends are feeling.
Another option to consider is Product eGifting: customers can select a product from your eCommerce site and send it to the recipient via email. After opening the email and reading the personal message, the recipient can virtually tailor the gift to their personal style and taste, select a different product altogether or choose a gift card instead.
In conclusion
As a marketer, you know that these challenging times provide an opportunity for brands to explore creative ways to promote gift cards. Use promotions to encourage your customers to send gift cards via email for fast delivery, instant use, and online or in-app purchases. These very same promotions can also give shoppers a great reason to purchase eGift cards for self-use, too.
