7 Tips for Setting up e-Gift Cards in Your Online Store

e-Gifts cards market share is growing and not only during the holiday season. People purchase gift cards usually since they are not sure what you like or your sizes. Giving them an alternative method to spend their money is definitely worth the initial investment in creating or improving your gift card program.

The global e-gift cards market size will almost double in 2025 compared with 2019 and more than triple since 2015, according to statistical research published by Mageplaza (1).

Gift cards are still the most common item on consumer wish lists

This year marks the 12th straight in which gift cards rank at the top of the list when consumers are polled about what gift category they’d most like to receive. According to new research from America’s National Retail Federation (2), 60 percent of consumers say they’d like to receive gift cards and gift certificates this year, making them more popular than clothing and accessories.

Please see below 7 tips for setting an effective e-Gift Card program in your online store.

1. Scheduled Notifications

Allow scheduled notification for the e-gift card-send on the date, for example, Birthday.

Please see below an example from Zara. Users may purchase a gift card in advance and schedule electronic delivery and notification on a specific date.

2. Notify the sender

Make sure there was a notification to the sender when the gift card was sent to the recipient.
The example from Zara below shows the email message that includes eGift card and instructions to the card’s recipient.

A sample from Zara with the confirmation email to the gift card sender.

3. Options of Creative Images

Allow changes to the gift card pictures and provide with at least five options for various occasions.

The example from Zara shows the variety of options that are relevant to different recipient demographics.

4. Newsletter

Include a permanent Gift Card offer section in every newsletter and in the “Thank you” email message as a promotional item.

5. Header and Footer

Make Gift Cards prominent through the site and include in the main navigation, header or footer.

The primary navigation example from Nordstrom includes direct links to the different gift card options.

Texas Roadhouse placed the Gift Cards link as one of the top menu items in the site header.

6. e-Gift Card Benefits Page

Have a separate eCard webpage that explains all Gift Card benefits for customers.
See an example from Ulta Beauty.

7. Product Page eGift Card Option

Include reference to gift cards on product pages. There are a few ways how to use gift cards on the product pages.

One is to provide with an eGift Card option for the products that need a custom color or size selection.

Another option is to offer in-store product pickup-up.

The statistic shows that recipients of a gift card for a specific product often upsell or cross-sell themselves.

See an example from Primark where a customer may buy a gift card for the Game Of Thrones Coin Purse. The recipient may pick up the item in store.

The pickup in-store method is very relevant when shipping charges may make the product less attractive.

Conclusion

Gift cards functionality is pretty standard functionality that is included in most ecommerce platforms. You might slightly tweak it to get the best functionality but it is well worth the investment. Gift cards are one of the most underused functions today.

Make e-Gift Cart a priority for 2019 and let it help grow your revenue.