![]() ![]() Need help on how to do this? Here are a few ideas on giving customers that extra push they need to purchase gift cards from you: Differentiating your gift cards and winning over shoppers can be a bit more challenging, so you have to be creative with how you market them. However, given that we’re approaching the busiest shopping time of the year, you likely have plenty of competitors in the gift card department. Thanks to their convenience and versatility, gift cards are consistently ranked as one of the top things that people give and would like to receive during the holidays. “I have some gift cards people printed eight years ago, and they are surprised we still take them," LeHeron said.ĭaily Record business reporter Gary Haber contributed to this story.It’s not usually difficult to convince people buy gift cards. That said, he still sees the occasional vintage gift card. Holiday gift card sales also lead to booming January restaurant attendance, LeHeron said. In addition, he said, customers were often likely to bring others with them who would purchase food and drinks.ĭavid LeHeron, who owns Blue Heron restaurant in Springettsbury Township, said gift cards given to newcomers to York County, such as resident doctors at WellSpan York Hospital, are often what first acquaints the new customers with his French bistro. For one thing, he doesn't include alcohol on his gift cards, and often his customers order drinks. Selling $40 gift cards for $20 might seem like a losing strategy, but Tobin said it pays off. Tobin said he's seen an increase in millenial-aged customers in the past four to five months, and while he couldn't necessarily say that the app helped in this effort, he thought it might be playing a role. "Somebody either likes your place or has heard of your place and … I think it means a lot to us to have somebody choose us for our gift card.”Īt York Blue Moon in York, owner Darrell Tobin said he has also started offering 50 percent off gift cards through an app associated with the Clipper coupon magazine. “To some extent, word-of-mouth advertising is what it comes down to," Karandrikas said. In addition, he said, the discounted cards, available in-store only, are one more way his restaurant can stay ahead of the competition. Like Sibol, Karandrikas said the gift cards help to cultivate and expand his customer base. Nick Karandrikas, general manager of Crimson American Grill in Spring Garden Township, said this is his second year offering 15 percent off gift cards from Nov. This year, he increased the number of cards from 500 to 1,000, and he planned for his employees to reroute the line down Beaver Street so that area boutiques might benefit from the customers. Sibol said that five years ago on Black Friday, he advertised that he'd sell 500 gift cards, each worth $50, for $25 each. The result was a line that stretched from his restaurant a block down Philadelphia Street. Tom Sibol, who owns the White Rose Bar & Grill in York, said his holiday gift card sales have become part of his strategy to expand his customer base and give back to his customers during the holidays. That makes them more popular than department store gift cards (34.4 percent), credit card-branded ones like Visa or Mastercard gift cards (22.7 percent) or gift cards for coffee shops (20.1 percent). Restaurant gift cards are the most popular, the survey indicated. Some 34.8 percent of those surveyed said they planned to buy at least one. More than 73 percent of those questioned in the National Retail Federation survey said they planned to purchase at least one gift card. The average person is expected to buy 3.4 cards and spend a total of $153.08, according to the survey of 7,172 adults conducted for by Prosper Insights & Analytics. They want you to actually enjoy something, and a lot of times with cash, people don’t actually do that.” “It’s something that people would normally not do for themselves," Kehr said. "If you give them a gift card, it’s going to be spent out. Byron Kehr, who owns Roosevelt Tavern in York, said restaurant gift cards are popular because they're a way to give a friend or family member an experience they otherwise might not have. ![]() Though national chains might make up much of those sales, the trend is not lost on local, independent restaurant owners. Americans are expected to spend almost $26 billion on gift cards this holiday season, according to the National Retail Federation's 2015 Gift Card Survey, and restaurant gift cards top that list. ![]()
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