Posts Tagged ‘mobile gift cards’
Thursday, June 14th, 2012
As smartphones become more prevalent in the daily lives of consumers, retailers are constantly coming up with ways to reach these consumers in the space where they are spending an increasing amount of time……….on their mobile devices. While systems like Square and PayPal previously targeted small to medium sized businesses, they have moved into the top tier retail space. This will allow consumers to make payments using their mobile device, instead of having to carry around a wallet full of plastic.
Due to the increased importance and usage of smartphones, retailers are also making gift cards available through a mobile device more and more frequently. Not only is it easier for the person recieving the gift card to redeem their gift, but it also revolutionizes the way a friend, or employer delivers the gift. There is added convenience on both sides of the gift card. Imagine giving rewards to employees on a rolling basis through a spot rewards program. The employer can deliver rewards witha click of a button to any number of employees in any number of locations. Mobile gift cards are also revolutionizing the mobile retail space and transforming the way people give and receive gifts.
For more information check out this article and interview with Ken Paull, Executive Vice President of ROAM Data, from PYMNTS.com.
The author:
Rachel Merkin is a digital marketing professional . She has been exploring the worlds of social media and B2B gift cards since 2006. When she is not blogging, tweeting, or finding ways to leverage Facebook as a marketing tool, she spends as much time at the beach as she can.
Tags: employee incentives, employee rewards, gift cards, mobile gift cards, mobile payment
Posted in General, Incentives & Engagement, Retailer & Merchant Topics | No Comments »
Friday, April 20th, 2012
This is quite possibly the most comprehensive infographic ever created around mobile payments. Our question for the prepaid industry, loyalty rewards program management companies, and gift card retailers and merchants: Is our next loyalty program component in the area of mobile payments use?
Source: MostWanted via Prepaid Expo
Thank you MostWanted and Ptepaid Expo
The author:
Stacey Sicurella is a 15 year marketing veteran, working in the Boston area for GiftCard Partners. Recent accomplishments include blogging with abandon, acquiring work-life balance and building amazing sand-castles with her children.
Tags: B2B gift cards, customer loyalty retailer loyalty, infographic, loylaty programs, mobile delivery, mobile gift cards, mobile payments, prepaid
Posted in General, Gift Card Technology, Gift Card Trends | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 21st, 2012
It should be of no surprise that mobile payment was a choice topic at this year’s Prepaid Expo, but as purveyors of the B2B portion of retail sales; how will we get to mobile payment?
Retailers and merchants are living (or about to live) the latest technology and game changing concepts about the consumer waving their mobile device to pay. But the B2B portion of the market still has major issues to overcome. The questions that the Prepaid Expo asks ring loud in order to capture consumers and also ring true for your B2B customers and subsequent end-consumers:
What will be frictionless in your environment?
What will bring the greatest value?
What will be the best authentication?
What’s the best way to reduce cost?
How do you make prepaid product more relevant and valuable to cardholder before, during, after the
payment transaction?
Interesting quote from Bill Gates about the future: “We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten.”–Bill Gates
Mobile buying is inevitable, but are you considering B2B gift card sales in your mobile prepaid strategy? If not, when will you shape your change?
Read up on the Prepaid Expo’s Live from Prepaid Expo: The Future of Prepaid & Mobile
The author:
Stacey Sicurella is a 15 year marketing veteran, working in the Boston area for GiftCard Partners. Recent accomplishments include blogging with abandon, acquiring work-life balance and building amazing sand-castles with her children.
Tags: B2B gift cards, eGift cards, mobile gift cards, mobile payments, Prepaid expo, prepaid technology, virtual gift cards
Posted in General, Gift Card Events, Retailer & Merchant Topics | No Comments »
Tuesday, November 1st, 2011
The latest analytics from comScore Inc. indicate that the number of consumers using mobile online banking has increased 45% since one year ago. This staggering number is proving the shift to mobile technology use is growing, and most importantly, that consumers are beginning to trust mobile technology more as it continues to develop. Upon the initial introduction of mobile financial applications the majority of consumers indicated through various surveys and studies that they used mobile technology, but would not do so for banking or financial purposes.
Having a trusting consumer base has caused a massive growth in mobile banking, which could also mean big changes for gift card usage and receipt of employee rewards. Imagine getting a spot reward, gift card from your boss for doing well on a big project, and having it download right to your phone. Or having your year end bonus go into your checking account and being able to move that money around on your way to buy your holiday gifts. Mobile banking is changing the way people handle their money. How will it change your financial attitudes? Do you trust mobile banking?
For more information on the latest comScore Inc. analysis click here.
The author:
Rachel Merkin is a digital marketing professional . She has been exploring the worlds of social media and B2B gift cards since 2006. When she is not blogging, tweeting, or finding ways to leverage Facebook as a marketing tool, she spends as much time at the beach as she can.
Tags: employee incentives, gift cards, mobile, mobile gift cards, mobile wallet
Posted in General, Gift Card Technology, Gift Card Trends | No Comments »
Thursday, October 27th, 2011
Increasing numbers of consumers are using their mobile devices while shopping. In tough economic times, consumers are always looking for the best deal, and will do extra work and research to ensure that they get the best price. Consumers are now looking for deals, coupons, rewards, and free gifts through their mobile devices. 63% of consumers asked in the 2011 Hipcricket Mobile Marketing Survey said that they had accessed a retailer’s website from their mobile device, and 41% said they had done so from inside a retail store. Mobile technology is revolutionizing the way consumers shop and receive coupons and special offers, it is even changing the way employers give out rewards and incentives. Imagine getting your holiday gift in a gift card form, right to your mobile device.
33% of consumers indicated that they would be interested in receiving special offers through their mobile device, which often includes quick response deals, deals only good for a few hours after receipt of the coupon. This statistic proves how engaged consumers are, and how even when consumers are on the go, or even at work, they are a captive audience for retailers looking to deliver coupons, offers, and even free gifts.
Consumers are allowing retailers to access them on their mobile devices, which means a constant cycle of deals, coupons, and shopping. This holiday season mobile engagement is going to play a big role in retailer success. If you use mobile retail sites or deals leave us a comment and let us know how you use them, and what advancements you would like to see in the future.
For more information on the 2011 Hipcricket Mobile Marketing Survey, or mobile retail strategy click here.
The author:
Rachel Merkin is a digital marketing professional . She has been exploring the worlds of social media and B2B gift cards since 2006. When she is not blogging, tweeting, or finding ways to leverage Facebook as a marketing tool, she spends as much time at the beach as she can.
Tags: gift cards, Marketing, mobile, mobile gift cards, social media
Posted in General, Gift Card Trends, Retailer & Merchant Topics | No Comments »
Tuesday, October 4th, 2011
Within 9 weeks of Starbucks launching mobile payment apps,customers chose to pay with their phones over 3 million times, according to an eMarketer interview with Starbucks VP of Digital Ventures Adam Brotman. The apps provide convenience and control for customers, and speeds up those dreaded lines at Starbucks on weekday mornings. Customer use of the app increases steadily as time goes on.
But where are mobile payment systems going? The innovation has to keep evolving if it is going to maintain its popularity. Starbucks has already added an egift card component to the app, meaning that one Starbucks customer can gift another customer with the app through the mobile system. This is a computer free, cash free, and credit card free transaction that can happen anywhere. Imagine being able to receive gifts anytime anywhere, whether it is birthday gifts, or a reward from an employer. Mobile payments also help retailers track in-store activity based on mobile coupons. Brotman explains “In response to an ad campaign ran by adidas via Google’s AdMob where 10% discounts were offered Schultz said “they were able to track that in-store activity, they saw that the weekly redemption numbers were up 50 percent. You still have users who are willing to engage with commerce now. As consumers we don’t operate in silos and as marketers we should either. When we work with retailers, we try to figure out their strategies and how we can enable that – we look at consumer behavior.”
Convenience for consumers, additional metrics and tracking for retailers. Get rid of your cash, and shred your credit cards, just make sure you have your smartphone.
For more information on mobile payments click here.
Tags: gift cards, Marketing, mobile gift cards, mobile marketing
Posted in Gift Card Trends, Incentives & Engagement | No Comments »
Thursday, September 22nd, 2011
It’s baack, we have blogged about it before, but now it walks among us, so it seems time to revisit Google Wallet. It is the first smart phone app, only available on a very select few smart phone models, that allows you to complete payment transactions using your phone, instead of a credit card, or the prehistoric form of payment, cash. Google wallet is revolutionizing commerce, and how people recieve rewards. Imagine how easy it would be for a company running a health and wellness program to simply place electronic CVS/Pharmacy gift cards in their employees’ Google Wallet accounts, instead of going through the hassle of ordering physical cards, and having to have the cards activated.
As revolutionizing as Google Wallet could be, it will still take time to catch on. For one, it is not yet widely available, and it would be a bit of a stretch to say that people will switch cell phones, or even carriers for this technology. Additionally, it remains to be seen how many consumers will actually use the technology, given that a wide margin have expressed discomfort in using mobile technology for financial purposes, give the possibilities of identity theft and hacking.
Google Wallet will revolutionize commerce, and the face of the gift card industry, just not immediately.
For more information on Google Wallet, from someone who has actually tested the technology, click here
Tags: CVS gift cards, E-Commerce, eCerts, gift cards, mobile, mobile gift cards, Promotions
Posted in General, Gift Card Technology, Gift Card Trends | No Comments »
Monday, July 18th, 2011
GiftCard Partners’ Deb Merkin attended the CashStar Digital Gifting roundtable and said it was jammed packed with great market research and the roundtable discussion was invaluable.
CashStar’s Retailer Roundtable brings together leading analysts, technologists, thought leaders and a myriad of retailers to discuss the future of digital gifting. CVS/pharmacy and Brinker, 2 of our clients will be present and taking part in this roundtable!
Digital gifting has altered the way the B2B gift card market progresses, with efficiencies for the retailer, buyer and the end consumer, while directly tying in with mobile and social media initiatives… We look forward to seeing the results of this meeting in the coming weeks.
PORTLAND, Maine, Jul 14, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) — CashStar, the digital gifting and incentives company, today announced that it has brought together the industry’s top influencers and retailers for the world’s first event exclusively focused on the e-gifting industry. Taking place today in CashStar’s headquarter city of Portland, Maine, the CashStar Retailer Roundtable has brought thought leaders together to brainstorm the future of digital gifting with a focus on mobile and social channels. Click to read more about this landmark digital gifting event.
Tags: brinker gift cards, CashStar, CVS gift cards, gift card social media, incentives company, mobile gift cards, mobile gifting, online retailers, social channels for gif cards
Posted in General, Gift Card Events, Gift Card Technology, Gift Card Trends, Retailer & Merchant Topics | No Comments »
Monday, June 27th, 2011
It’s always good news to hear that the reward you are presenting to your employees or loyalty program participants is still the strong choice. A new study released by First Data called “Consumer Insights Gift Card Survey Results”, announced that “prepaid gift cards are still a popular choice for gifts in the United States”. This is good news for those purchasing gift cards in bulk as you know you are making a good choice.
Other indications that gift cards remain a strong trend in the B2B market is the study’s conclusion that more consumers are reloading their gift cards. This means that consumers (your employees and rewards participants) are loyal to their cards, be-it a physical plastic card, eCert (virtual gift card) or mCert (mobile gift card).
It’s also nice to know that by participating in the B2B gift card market, we are infusing the economy with additional shopping dollars. Consumers are inclined to stand by the gift card and reload it, which increases sales opportunities for retailers. The First Data study also announced that “35% of those who reloaded closed-loop gift cards said they visited the store more often, and 20% said they spent more money during each visit”.
All good news for our economy, but re-loadable and technology based gift cards are also great for our environment. Check out our Are Gift Cards Going Green? Blog.
The full study is available at First Data’s website.
The author:
Stacey Sicurella is a 15 year marketing veteran, working in the Boston area for GiftCard Partners. Recent accomplishments include blogging with abandon, acquiring work-life balance and building amazing sand-castles with her children.
Tags: B2B gift cards, bulk gift cards, eCerts, First Data gift card report, Gift Card Trends, mcerts, mobile gift cards, virual gift cards
Posted in General, Gift Card Technology, Gift Card Trends | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 1st, 2011
My father-in-law just turned 80! What did we give him for his birthday? An iPhone…well, pretty much…it’s complicated. Turns out you can’t buy a phone for someone due to contracts, phone number transitions, etc. So we printed a picture of an iPhone and gave him gift cards to buy his phone.
What’s my point? He is 80 and he still loves his gadgets. Now, Dads love their gadgets within gadgets, like virtual and mobile gift cards. “Most Dads love their gadgets and now family members can give unique virtual or mobile gift cards with personalized messages that stay with them on their mobile device,” said Doug Schneider, CEO, Transaction Wireless. “Social gifting is gaining in popularity and Facebook postings give loved ones a public forum to express their feelings and appreciation for dad.”
Employers can embrace holidays like Father’s Day and make a Dad feel special with spot rewards and gifting virtual and mobile gift cards. High performance, corporate recognition, safety, sales motivation and achievements…there are many ways to commemorate your employees’ fatherhood.
Tags: corporate regogintion, fathers day gifts, mobile gift cards, motivation, rewards, safety, smart phone, spot rewards, virtual gift cards
Posted in General, Incentives & Engagement | No Comments »
