Better Cash Flow
A $50 gift certificate sale means $50 cash for your business today. Gift certificates were typically hidden behind the counter in a drawer, where they would be safe from shoplifters. Your gift card supply can be proudly and SAFELY displayed right in front on the cash register, as they are essentially useless until they are loaded with funds. The ‘thought’ of purchasing a gift card is right in the face of the customer as they wait and make their purchase, rather than it being a potential afterthought to ask if they are available at all. The chances of selling gift cards increases dramatically based solely on the visibility they offer that couldn’t be comfortably offered with gift certificates.
The sale of the gift card, and bringing in the new customer isn’t the end of the story. You can even offer the purchasers of gift cards incentive that will bring THEM back to spend actual cash. If you sell a gift card for $100 and offer a $10 credit as a reward, chances are, the purchaser will buy something worth more than the initial $10, especially if they are buying the gift card because they are already a regular client. Regardless of why they are in there, it certainly doesn’t hurt that they had incentive to purchase a gift card in the first place!