Gift Cards vs Coupons
Why coupons don't bring customers!
Coupons vs. Gift Cards
If you think your shopping cart's built-in coupon code system is an adequate substitute for genuine gift cards, the research on how big the differences are might surprise you.Better hope your customers are already in a buying mood...
- In order for a coupon to be an effective marketing tool, the potential customer has to already be in a buying mood. Your customer is thinking "discount", but a discount implies that you're still going to be spending money. If they aren't committed to spend, the promise of a discount isn't going to draw them out. Think about it - if someone gives you a coupon for $10.00 off, unless you can think of anything you need right now, you're going to set it aside, and most likely forget about it. Coupons are for people who already know what they want and are ready to spend money.
What if we could show you how to switch their thinking? Or even better...
What if you could make someone who doesn't even know your store exists drop what they're doing, surf to your website, and look at every product you sell until they find one they like?
- Sound impossible? Too good to be true? When you give someone a gift card, you're inviting them to do exactly that! Unlike coupons, plastic gift cards are perceived as "real money". Giving someone a gift card is like handing them cash to spend at your store. With a gift card in hand, now they're suddenly looking for something to spend it on! And even if they can't find a single item that's priced less than the value of the gift card they're holding, they'll still want to use that card toward the purchase of something more expensive!
NOT using a gift card feels like throwing money away!
- That's the power of gift cards over coupons. Not to mention, as the name "gift card" implies, they make great gifts. By selling gift cards on your site you'll reach buyers who have no interest in your products, but they'll still plop down $25 or $50 to buy a gift card for their friend. You've probably given your friends and family gift cards for their birthdays and holidays - but have you ever given them a coupon? Didn't think so! Giftcards bring people to your store. Coupons don't.
Card9 lets you create and accept gift cards today!
- Our system makes it easy to create and accept gift cards in your online store. You design the front of the card artwork and our interface lets you upload it and generate any number of cards pre-loaded with the dollar amount of your choice. You can use them as virtual card numbers, distributing them by e-mail, or we'll print the cards on 30mil plastic (credit card size and thickness), each with a unique card number, and ship them for free within 48 hours. Our card quality is the same as you'll see at any major retailer, and processing the card works just like a payment gateway - your buyer enters the card number into your website, your site connects to our server to validate the card, and our server returns an approval code.
Learn more about how the process works here.