Whether you are shopping for your nephew’s birthday or need a quick gift for the office Christmas party, gift cards have become a great choice to resolve those gift dilemmas. No need to be sure you get the perfect gift for someone you may not know well or who is difficult to buy for as you can simply give them a gift card to a store you know they love and let them choose for themselves.

Gift cards are a $160 billion industry, providing many businesses with an extra stream of revenue. Sales of the cards increase during the months of October, November and December when people are starting to plan their Christmas gift purchases. If you own a business, gift certificates are a great way to increase your revenue throughout the year, not just at the holiday season. The cards increase revenue in two ways. First, you have the money sent to purchase the card as soon as it is bought. Because people want to be sure there is nothing left on the card when they are done, they tend to spend more than the card limit when they shop. First Data reports that the average consumer spends $59 more than the balance of the card, further increasing your profit.

A growing trend in the industry is e-gift cards. These are cards you can purchase online and send via email. When someone wants to purchase a gift for someone who lives far away who has mentioned how much they love your little boutique, selling email gift cards is a great way to boost sales. The purchaser can go to your website, purchase gift cards online and send them to their friend or family member via email. The friend simply prints out the online gift cards and brings them in to make a purchase.

Small businesses often hide the cards away under a front register or have just one small sign at checkout to promote in-store and online gift cards. Instead, make them a focus by placing a card in an eye-catching frame at the register and encourage staff to mention them to customers. You can even include a link to your website to entice customers to buy gift cards online. Add a branded link to your website that allows a customer to order gift cards online at the same time they make other purchases. The card is added to their shopping cart and it makes it easier for those who shop using mobile phones.

If you have a business, you have probably been approached by non-profit organizations to donate items for auctions or raffles. One of the best items to provide them are gift cards. If you don’t want to use traditional cards, create a gift certificate with a link to your site that takes the amount of the e-gift cards off the purchase. You can also use email gift cards as a promotion. Best buy gift cards often have incentives like ““buy a card and get 10 percent off your other purchases,” which can encourage your customers to order gift cards online You can also promote the use of the card by offering a discount if the gift card is used by a certain date.

EmployeeandMemberDiscounts.com offers a wide range of gift cards online at savings that were previously only available to certain employees or members of particular organizations. You can purchase gift cards online from a wide range of businesses at a huge discount. You can find Best Buy gift cards as well as cards from other companies. We can even help you set up your own discount program using email gift cards.

Encourage your employees and members to buy gift cards online and save money. As soon as they sign up, they can begin using discounts when they buy gift cards online. If you want to talk to one of our perk experts about creating your own discount program, fill out the easy form or give us a call today.