To many couples, friends and a few lucky pets, Valentine’s Day is a big deal. But to retailers, it could be bigger. The results of the NRF Annual Valentine’s Day Consumer Spending Survey have just been released, and the numbers are staggering:
2022 spending is expected to reach $23.9 billion
(up from $21.8 billion in 2021).
Each consumer plans to spend an average of $175.
Major holidays are called “major” for a reason—people spend a lot of money during these holidays, which means there’s a lot of revenue out there.
Did you have Valentine’s Day circled on your 2022 promotional calendar?
Your Piece of the Heart-Shaped Pie
If you sell gift cards (in-store, online or in-app), you might still have enough time to put together a Valentine’s Day promotion. Also, research shows that companies using reward-based promotions enjoy greater marketing performance and year-over-year growth than companies using discount-based promotions.1 That means you’re in good shape to get some of this Valentine’s Day dollars.
If not, consider this a good reminder to get a gift card program in place ASAP. You don’t want to miss out on Mother’s Day, Father’s Day or any of the other big opportunities coming up on the promotional calendar.
The Blackhawk Network Digital Gifting platform has always been an industry leader. We power hundreds of promotions every year for top global brands, helping them drive additional revenue, reach their business goals and make their customers happy.
Want your piece of the pie? Give us a call.
Use the Right Promotion
In a post-pandemic world, gift cards are more desirable than ever. Whether physical or virtual, gift cards and eGift cards are safe and easy to purchase, and still exciting to receive. And when you can do it all on your phone, that’s even better. Plus, compared to discount-based promotions, reward-based promotions don’t discount your brand.
So, once your program is in place, which type of gift card promotion should you run? Well, it depends on your business goals.
- You want to sell more gift cards.
Our partners have seen incredible success with simple Give One, Get One promotions—average increases of more than 85%!2 When the customer buys a card as a gift, they get a smaller card free to use as they like.
- You want to increase basket size.
In this case, you reward customers for spending at certain levels. If they spend $100 on a gift, for example, they get a $20 gift card for themselves. In addition to increasing basket size, it also drives incremental visits.
- You want to drive more app downloads.
Rewards don’t have to be big to yield big results. When Dunkin’ partnered with T-Mobile to offer a $2 gift card, Dunkin’ app downloads and loyalty enrollment doubled.
- You want to get customers in-store.
We all want to get customers back in stores, restaurants and theaters. If they make their promotional purchase online, give them a $10 gift card to pick up the order in a physical location. Not only does this increase traffic, it also leads to shopper upspend.
Our Valentine’s Day Gift to You
Want more examples of reward-based promotions? More tips? More stats? Then, you’ll want to download our free look book, Using Gift Cards in Promotions. This easy-to-read guide is filled with real-world ways to boost your promotions—whether you’re a small business or a national brand—adding value, improving effectiveness and increasing engagement.
it's our gift to you. Just click here to download
How Can We Help?
Of course, Valentine’s Day is only the tip of the promotional iceberg. Watch for future blogs on Mother’s Day, Back-to-School, Black Friday and more. Meanwhile, if you have any questions—or just want to get started—the promotional experts at Blackhawk Network are standing by to answer any questions, make suggestions or help run your programs—whatever you need.
Just click here for more information or call 866.219.7533.
1. Next-Generation Promotions: Foster Customer Engagement and Maximize Marketing Effectiveness, Aberdeen, 2021
2. Blackhawk Network Historical Data
