Choosing gifts for a single person may be difficult but choosing gifts for a group of people can be intimidating. Gift cards are expected to be a popular present this holiday season. Strategizing gift card types with appreciation will ramp up your rewards program or increase employee engagement in your company. This article will explore why so many companies are using gift cards to engage, motivate, and acknowledge their employees and customers.

Why Use Gift Cards

According to the Q3-2022 gift card survey from Fiserv Inc., 60% of consumers said they would purchase gift cards to help plug the gap in product availability created by product supply chain disruptions. Let us look at some other main decision factors consumers take into consideration when purchasing gift cards from Payments Dive.

• Personal use: 20% of consumers are purchasing gift cards for their own benefit
• Discounts Given: 45% in 2021, up from 35% in 2019
• Loyalty Programs and Rewards: 44% in 2021, up from 30% in 2019
• Online Purchase Capability: 32% in 2021, up from 25% in 2019

Prepaid Bank Cards

Advantages: Flexible, Sophisticated, and Freedom of Choice

Gift cards can be used for purchases at stores or online, but while you might buy gift cards for giving, a prepaid bank card is a tool you can use for your own daily expenses if you do not have a bank account or prefer not to pay with cash or your regular credit card. Prepaid bank cards and refillable gift cards typically provide better value compared with gift cards that are specifically tied to retailers, but common credit cards may provide certain advantages when it comes to earning rewards such as travel or rewards bonuses. You can purchase Mastercard®, American Express®, or Visa® Reward Cards from RPG Card Services as a gift for the holiday season. Your employees or customers will love that they can use them at a variety of stores. Use them at restaurants, retailers, groceries, or even to pay off irregular bills.

Digital Gift Cards

Advantages: Convenient, Instant Delivery, and Keep in Digital Wallet

Digital gift cards have no physical form; instead, you are assigned a unique gift code number to redeem with online retailers when making purchases. While this new gifting method has been the buzz over the last few holiday seasons, relatively few consumers have sent or used a digital gift card. According to Digital Transactions, many still prefer giving or receiving physical gift cards, but the number of users using digital channels to fulfill holiday purchasing needs is growing (42% vs. 37% in 2021).

In addition, one survey by GoBankingRates stated that 75% of gift card redemptions were for physical cards, compared with 25% of those for digital cards. However, 55% of consumers said they wanted digital cards that could be added to a mobile wallet. With mobile phones becoming a fixture in the buying experience, it makes sense that consumers will ask for gift cards to become digital and mobile, making their acquisition, allocation, and redemption just as fast and easy as paying with their tried-and-true debit and credit cards. Mobile gift cards also provide retailers with additional benefits, enabling them to reach and engage customers in ways they have not been able to do previously: driving brand messages, offering rewards, and driving foot traffic back into physical locations through push-notification marketing.

Shell Gift Cards

Advantages: Needed, Thoughtful, and Cost Control

Maybe you are not a fan of digital or prepaid gift cards, but there is one resource that everyone needs and can benefit from: gasoline. Shell Gift Cards are an excellent way to save money on gas and other purchases at Shell locations across the U.S. The Shell Gift Card offers pay-at-the-pump speeds like a credit card, so you can conveniently fill up and get going. Shell Gift Cards are redeemable at all Shell service stations and can be used for gasoline, snacks, beverages, and other items onsite. Giving the Shell Gift Card this holiday season is sure to be a big hit with your recipients. With prices still high on almost everything, take the stress off of getting from point A to point B this holiday season. Call us at 888-743-5504 or search www.buyshellgiftcards.com to get started!

Managing Large Programs

Programs offering a choice between delivering a physical or digital gift have the best chance to attract participants, since lifestyle, urgency, re-gifting, and other considerations all factor into how users wish to receive rewards. Keep your brand selection diverse by starting off with these three gift card types to align your program with rewards that are relatable to your recipients. At RPG Card Services, we can create a tailored custom portal for your business to give out rewards to all employees within minutes, all in a single program online. Give every employee or manager a certain amount they can use each month to send gifts or rewards to their colleagues—totally up to you.  View our full list of preferred brands and contact us on our website.

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