Choosing the right gift card - Plastic vs digital
Gift cards are becoming increasingly popular in business as an effective and convenient way to say thank you. This isn't the latest fad but rather a tried and tested method of motivating your staff or increasing client engagement. Whilst both digital and plastic gift cards can be used as a reward or incentive, only one will give you greater bang for buck. Here's why the market is turning to digital gift cards.
Digital gift cards are instant
Consumers want instant gratification. Digital gift cards can be delivered to a recipient instantly via email. Plastic gift cards can take up to several days when sent by post. Not only is this method time consuming, it also adds additional costs to your bottom line.
Digital gift cards are cheaper
Unlike plastic cards, digital gift cards do not incur admin, activation or delivery fees. These additional fees exist to cover the cost of card production and time spent in preparing and packaging cards to be delivered to you. Apart from direct costs, there are hidden costs such as your admin time as well as the cost of replacement should a card be lost or not delivered.
Digital gift cards are more secure
Some people forget to consider what they will do with plastic cards from the time of purchase until they are given to the recipient. The longer you are storing the gift cards, the bigger risk there is for the cards to be misplaced or stolen. Once plastic cards are misplaced, you forfeit the value. Digital cards on the other hand can be sent on demand and do not need to be stored. They are also easily tracked to ensure security.
Digital gift cards are eco-friendly
Reducing your plastic waste and carbon footprint is more important than ever today. By choosing to use digital gift cards you are also helping the environment in two ways; by reducing plastic waste and by eliminating the impacts from transportation and delivery of the cards.
Customisation & choice
Digital gift cards do not need to be printed, which allows for significant customisation at very little cost. The ability to customise on the fly allows a business to be proactive and creative with their gift card program. There are flexible digital gift cards which give your recipients the power to choose their desired gift from a range of brands. Some even allow for the total value to be split across different brands. This removes the risk of you sending something they will not like or use.
When it comes to the question of digital vs physical, the solution is simple. Keep your staff happy, keep your business running lean and make your customers happy by rewarding and incentivising with digital gift cards.
