Gift
Card sales are exploding.
Retail stores have been
responding to the demands of consumers as sales of gift
cards — about $1 billion US when they were introduced south
of the border in 1995 — exploded to about $70 billion this
year.
In Canada, the retail
sector is expected to bring in just under $59 billion in
2006 holiday sales, according to a study by accounting firm
Ernst and Young.
Gift cards will make up a
healthy chunk of those sales &8212; in 2005, a study
conducted for the Retail Council of Canada said 19 per cent
of shoppers would buy gift cards. But, in a news release,
the council said that more Canadians would likely shell out
for the convenience of not having to search high and low for
that special gift.
The most successful gift
card in North America may be the one offered by Starbucks.
The company estimates that 10 per cent of all the caffeine
hits served up by its North American baristas is
paid for by gift cards. It's also the only retailer that
will let you use your gift card to buy a gift card for
someone else.
About 96 million Starbucks
cards have been activated since they were launched in 2001 —
and customers have reloaded those cards more than 38 million
times.
Wal-Mart Canada expects
gift card sales to explode as well. The company reports that
by the end of November 2006, money loaded on gift cards
waiting to be spent increased by 30 per cent over the same
period a year earlier.
With competition increasing
for the gift card dollar, companies are getting more
creative in their offerings. Aeroplan is offering $100 and
$250 cards that can be redeemed for merchandise in various
retail outlets. The cards can be had for either 14,000 or
33,500 Aeroplan miles.
The priciest gift card
around may be the $100,000 Four Seasons Gift Card. When the
chain got into the gift card game in 2005, it was available
in denominations up to $1,000. But cards worth $2,500 and
$5,000 were quickly added.
Smart card software.
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Gift card, smart card software solution for
small retailers. A Chip card based, cash
card. Chip card out of the box, easy
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need to get you up and running your own points
or cash programme. Find out
more...........
Chip card out of a box
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