Gift cards branded to other retailers need to be considered carefully by newsagents. On the plus side is the thought that making a commission off a sale we would not have got. On the downside is the promotion of other retailers in our businesses and thereby pulling focus from items we may have which could satisfy the gift occasion.
While my newsagencies sell the Visa prepaid products (Canvas, V Card and Just 4), I am yet to commit to the retail branded store-specific gift cards. If someone has asked for a store specific gift card, we have pitched the Visa product – saying it can be used anywhere.
Before newsagents jump into these gift card offers careful thought is needed about the impact on existing and future sales, the revenue opportunity from the cards, floorspace requirements and how the offer reinforces your point of difference … given that Australia Post has these in their corporate stores.
That said, I know of newsagents who are thrilled to have the store branded cards for companies like Sportsgirl, JB HiFi and others available.
This was the exact reason we did not take up the Blackhawk gift cards or their stand. I could not see the value in selling gift cards for other retailers as these take the recipient customer out of our shopping centre & into the big centres where these stores are primarily located. For a small commission we lose the opportunity for any add-on sale or additional shopping. In our instance I just could not reconcile the logic.