Gift Cards: A Great Way to Boost Sales in Your WooCommerce Store

Gift cards have gained immense popularity in recent years, mainly because of their convenience and flexibility. They have become a popular option for gift-givers who want to give their loved ones a meaningful gift, as they allow the recipient to select the product or service they actually desire. 

For WooCommerce store owners, implementing gift cards into their platform has brought many advantages, like driving sales, boosting brand loyalty, and increasing customer engagement. So, apart from just allowing customers to give thoughtful gifts to their loved ones, gift cards also provide store owners with a powerful strategy to boost sales and promote customer loyalty.

This blog will delve deep into the term gift card and explore how they can significantly impact sales and be a game changer for WooCommerce stores.

Without further ado, let’s get started!

The concept of gift cards

Gift cards are prepaid cards or vouchers that hold a specific monetary value and can be used to make purchases at a particular retailer, online store, or within a specific network of businesses. They have become an integral part of modern shopping due to their simplicity and versatility. 

Here’s how gift cards work:

Purchase: Customers purchase gift cards either in physical form (like a plastic card or coupon) or in digital form (sent via email or downloaded). These cards will be preloaded with a set amount of money, which can be later used by the recipient to purchase goods or services from the store or website associated with the gift card.

Redemption: When recipients receive a gift card, they can redeem it by presenting it at the retailer’s physical store or by entering the unique code provided during online checkout. The amount spent at the store will be deducted from the card balance.

Balance Tracking: Once used, the user will track the balance on the gift card either by visiting a particular website mentioned by the store owners or by contacting customer care. This process is done to plan future purchases.

Gift cards as a growing trend

After the outbreak of the COVID-19 Pandemic, where people were forced to stay indoors, the trend of gift cards has immensely grown. People found gift cards a convenient gifting option during that period, and business models utilized this as a marketing tool. 

Even statistics show that gift cards are more relevant now than before. In 2020 alone, the United States reached $383 billion in gift card sales, which was a remarkable increase compared to the previous years.

This rise in the popularity of gift cards reflected a changing consumer landscape and made them an essential component of modern marketing strategies. With the indifference in business sizes and industries, most business models now use gift cards as a significant strategy to boost sales.

Types of gift cards

There are different types of gift cards that can be offered in a WooCommerce store.

Email Gift Cards: these are the most common type of digital gift cards in which the details of the purchased card, including the unique code and instructions about the redemption, will be sent to the recipient via email. The unique code provided can be used by the recipient to make purchases in the store.

Downloadable Gift Cards: In this type, customers can download a file (mainly PDF) that represents the gift card. This file can either be forwarded to the recipient or printed out and handed over to the recipient. This option is preferred by those who want a physical representation of the gift card.

Single-Use Gift Cards: This type of gift card is mainly used by stores as a one-time gift for promotional purposes. They cannot be renewed by crediting money or reused after the cards have been used for purchases.

Benefits of Using Gift Cards

Creating and offering redeemable gift cards in your WooCommerce store can help you in several ways. Let’s look at some of the advantages:

Boosting Sales: WooCommerce Gift cards act like an invitation to shop. Having a gift card means having a greater tendency to shop, and most customers spend more than the value provided on the card, which means more sales.

Increase customer loyalty: gift cards help in building a good relationship with customers. There are more chances for someone to return and shop again when they have a gift card. Purchasing from your site would be the only option left for them to redeem the gift card.

Attracting new customers: gift cards are not just meant for your regular customers. They are a convenient option for those who are confused about what to gift their loved ones. Thus, gift cards can attract new shoppers when people give them to someone new to your store. It can act as a strategy to welcome new customers.

Reducing Product Returns: Most gift cards lack the option to refund the money on them since they can only be redeemed through purchases. Thus, the hassle of return and refund can be reduced.

Enhancing Brand Visibility: Gift cards can work like a small advertisement, as chances are high that people giving and receiving gift cards will spread the word about your store. This helps in letting more people know about your store. Moreover, the brand name and logo will also be advertised through gift cards. When a recipient of a gift card visits your store, they get to know more about your products and services, and this may turn some visitors into customers by making them return to your store again.

Increasing traffic: A customer purchasing a gift card from your store and gifting it to their loved one means that there will be two visitors to your online store. So, a gift card has advantages by attracting more people to your store and thus increasing traffic. 

Cash Flow: When a customer purchases a gift card, the money is paid in advance, even before the actual product or service is delivered. This immediate money can be used to improve your business in different ways like marketing, buying more products, etc. 

Best practices to get the most out of gift cards

The key is to let people know about the gift cards offered and make them buy these gift cards. Here are some effective marketing strategies that can be considered to promote gift cards:

Festival-Themed Campaigns: Festivals are significant occasions where people exchange gifts. Create gift card promotions that go well with the season during festivals. For example, consider offering Christmas gift cards in the month of December or Valentine’s Day gift cards in February.

Offer gift cards as separate products: apart from offering gift cards only during holidays, consider offering them as individual products on your site so that customers can buy them whenever they have a special occasion, be it a birthday, a wedding, or an anniversary of their dear ones.

Give a personalizing option: allow your customers to personalize the gift cards they purchase by adding particular messages or images. This will make the gift card more meaningful and give a heartfelt feel to your customers.

Social Media Promotion: Use social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter to promote and showcase your gift cards. Consider creating attractive posts about gift cards and publishing them on these platforms.

Email Marketing: Emails explaining the concept and announcement of gift cards can be sent to your regular customers during special occasions.

Ask for gift cards during checkouts: On the checkout page of your site, consider adding an option to apply gift cards. This will give ideas to customers about gift cards.

Online Ads: Never miss running ads about your gift cards on platforms like Google Ads and YouTube. This will reach a wider audience, including those who are actually looking for gift cards.

Loyalty Programs: Offer brownie points or discounts to your customers who purchase gift cards. This may encourage them to buy it whenever they want to give a gift to someone.

Provide offers for gift cards: providing offers and discounts on gift cards can encourage customers to buy them while browsing for a gifting option. 

Influencer Collaboration: Collaborate with social media influencers to promote gift cards to their followers. 

Website Banners: Create colorful banners and clear call-to-action buttons to feature your gift cards so that visitors can easily find and purchase them.

Gift Card Landing Page: Create a detailed landing page to explain everything about the gift cards promoted on your website.

A WooCommerce gift card plugin recommendation

There are several WooCommerce gift card plugins that can be considered when it comes to implementing gift cards. One of the best gift card plugins is Webtoffee’s WooCommerce Gift Cards. This plugin allows you to create and sell unlimited, customizable gift cards and vouchers and also offers store credits for refunds on the gift cards.

The plugin makes it super easy for your customers to buy and use gift cards and is simple for you to set up. With this plugin, you can create beautiful gift card designs, offer personalized messages, and even set expiration dates. 

The plugin even allows you to create theme-based gift cards for special occasions and offers more than 20 pre-designed gift card templates in different categories to choose from. The plugin also provides an option for your customers to schedule specific dates for the gift cards to be sent to the recipient.

With its advanced features and user-friendly interface, this plugin can be a great option to boost the sales of your WooCommerce store through gift card promotions.

Conclusion

Implementing gift cards is a smart move to encourage sales for your WooCommerce store. They make your customers happy, increase your sales, and keep people coming back for more. You can use them for all sorts of occasions and promotions, and they’re super easy to set up with the right plugin. 

So, if you are someone looking for great marketing strategies to make your online store thrive and grow, gift cards are a must-have. They’re not just presents; they’re powerful tools to boost your sales and make your business shine!