Offering gift cards is not only a great way to boost your bottom line, but it’s a great way to make your Shopify store more “gift giver friendly.”
Shopify gift cards are a great solution for businesses of all sizes, especially since it makes it easier for shoppers to send gifts to friends, family and loved ones. From a business standpoint, your company can also benefit in some exciting ways. Utilizing the Shopify gift card tools instead of creating your own or using a third party is a great way to keep things more organized. Customers can also buy and redeem gift cards online and, if you’re using it, the Shopify POS in store. Everything is linked together for easy tracking and to cut down on fraud.
Here are some key advantages to adding gift cards on your Shopify store:
- All gift cards are paid for in full up front, so you can get the benefit of what the gift card industry calls “float," or the time between when a gift card is purchased and when it is actually used. You’ll want to check with your finance expert because there are often rules about how to handle unused gift card balance funds.
- It’s also possible that some gift card purchases will go unused, meaning that’s essentially extra revenue for your store. Again, check with your financial team for any rules regarding this.
- When a gift card is eventually used, many shoppers will often spend more than the actual value of the card, which further enhances your cash flow. Taking things a step further, offering gift cards in preset denominations that mean a typical order would go above the value of a gift card can be a strategic move to boost revenue as well. If you have a physical store, seasoned sales pros can also help steer customers toward purchases that result in going over the gift card value.
- Shoppers many be more likely to buy gifts from your store if they know a gift card option is available. This can calm nervous buyers who aren’t quite sure on size, color or which item might be best.
- Finally, many stores see a decrease in exchanges and returns when using gift cards. Since it’s so difficult to select the right item (or size or color), letting the lucky recipient select it themselves means it’s less likely to get returned and since returns and exchanges can be very costly and time consuming, the more you can cut down on them, the better.
Out of the box, Shopify gift cards are emailed on a rather generic design and don’t let you include a personal note or other gift details. One way around this limitation is through a gift card app, such as the Shopkeeper Shopify gift card app I've created. This app includes a huge library of all occasion and holiday-themed designs and adds the ability to let gift givers write a personal message and sign their name to gifts.
My app also makes it convenient for gift recipients to redeem gift cards since every design comes in a desktop, mobile and print friendly version that automatically adapts based on the use. My app also comes with a completely free version that gives any Shopify store owner access to some great tools to enhance gift card sales.
While the gift card feature does require the Shopify Pro plan or higher, many store owners see a significant return on this investment with an increase in gift sales. Also keep in mind that the Shopify Pro plan comes with advanced reporting tools and a slightly lower process rate, so those features and the benefits of selling gift cards can often result in a big advantage for your business.
Out of the Sandbox readers are eligible for a free, 7-day trial of the full version of the Shopkeeper Gift cards app here.
