For many consumers, they are the lifesaver in the pre-Christmas stress: gift vouchers. According to a survey by Statista, they even ranked first among the most popular Christmas gifts for Germans. The reason: They make the time- and nerve-wracking search for a suitable gift easier and are well received by recipients due to their flexible usability.
In addition to their own gift vouchers, more and more retailers are also offering gift cards and prepaid options from well-known online shops, streaming services, or mobile providers. Whether it's Amazon, Netflix, iTunes, or Vodafone - for retailers, partnerships with major companies are lucrative, and not just at Christmas. Learn how retailers benefit from these partnerships and how to quickly and seamlessly integrate this additional service at the point of sale (POS) here..
Pay Now and Redeem Later
Prepaid means "paid in advance" and has long been part of the product range for many mobile phone providers. Once paid, the phone credit can be redeemed at a later date - according to the user's needs. Gift cards work on the same principle: The customer selects the gift card from their preferred provider from the display stand and activates it with the store employee at the checkout. The employee loads the card with the specified amount of money and processes the payment, and the customer can then give the gift card away.
Whether online or in-store, redeeming the credit card is just as easy: On the back of each gift card is a code that is activated with the purchase. The recipient simply needs to enter this code in the designated gift field during online check-out and confirm with a mouse click. When shopping in-store, the gift card must be presented to the store employee at the checkout - they will then ensure that the credit is automatically applied to the purchase amount. If the purchase costs less than the value of the voucher, the remaining balance will be stored on the card for future purchases.
Gift cards and prepaid offers – five advantages for merchants:
- Generate additional income
For each sold gift card or prepaid solution, the merchant receives a good commission from the respective provider. To promote sales, one can, for example, place the gift card display directly in the checkout area – similar to the candy aisle, where customers often impulsively grab items, especially during the holiday season.
- Attracting new customers
Whether it's a streaming service, online shop, or furniture store, there's a wide range of providers of digital gift cards available, catering to everyone's preferences. This broad selection of providers also increases the potential pool of new customers that retailers can attract through the sale of popular gift and prepaid offers. For retailers, it's worthwhile to advertise the sale of these additional services, whether in the shop window or at the entrance of the store.
- Customer retention
Those who know that they can quickly and easily top up their mobile phone credit at the kiosk around the corner or the gas station downtown are likely to come back a second or third time - and eventually become regular customers. The same applies to last-minute gift buyers who rely on being able to quickly get a suitable gift voucher for their grandchild or best friend from their chosen retailer just a day before Christmas Eve.
- Doing business withour risk
The sale of gift cards and prepaid offerings provides merchants with a lucrative business opportunity entirely risk-free. This is because the prepaid offer or selected gift card is only loaded with a monetary value upon activation by the cashier at the checkout. Therefore, in the event of, for instance, a card being stolen from the display stand, the financial loss incurred by the merchant is minimized to the low material value of the card.
- Minimizing Inventory Costs
Inventory space is expensive, as every retailer knows. The smaller the products sold, the lower the costs for storage. This makes virtual prepaid products such as mobile phone credit particularly attractive for retailers, as they require no storage space. Similarly, popular gift voucher cards from companies like Douglas, Netflix, and others incur only minimal storage costs for retailers due to their compact card form.
Offer voucher and prepaid systems with Nexi
The Nexi voucher and prepaid solution is now available to help retailers integrate the popular additional service as easily as possible at the stationary POS. This enables retailers to easily activate and process voucher cards and prepaid offers from large companies via the card reader: The retailer selects the provider and monetary value desired by the customer directly at the terminal and then activates the desired amount on the appropriate voucher card. For prepaid mobile phone credit, the terminal prints out a receipt with the corresponding cash code - now the customer can give the credit away immediately or redeem it themselves.
With the Nexi voucher and prepaid solution, retailers have the entire range of all major providers at their disposal:
- Shopping platforms such as Amazon
- Mobile network provider such as O2 and Vodafone
- Download pirtals such as PlayStation Store or Google Play™ Store
- Streaming services such as Spotify and Deezer
Especially convenient: On all current Nexi terminals, activating the additional feature is quick and easy through an automated software update remotely. This means that the merchant does not have to invest in new hardware. Thanks to the fast installation process overnight, the merchant can already offer the gift and prepaid service to their customers on the next business day.
Want to be prepared for the holiday season and benefit from the advantages of gift and prepaid offers? Give us a call or send us a message, we're here to advise you!
For further questions on this topic or any other matters, please don't hesitate to contact us by phone. We look forward to hearing from you!