This is good news – not only for large retailers,  but even small companies are seeing gift cards as a tool for increasing sales and gaining new customers.

 According to the National Retail Federation’s consumer survey completed in November, holiday shoppers were expected to spend an average of $155.43 on gift cards, the highest sum since 2007 and up from $145.61 last year. Total gift-card spending for the 2011 holiday season was expected to total $27.8 billion.

 Much of that increase in gift card sales will be seen via electronic delivery methods such as Facebook, mobile phones and retailer web sites.

 About 57% of retailers who offer gift cards expected an increase in gift card sales this past holiday season, up from 47%last year and 32% in 2009, according to accounting and consulting firm BDO’s November survey of retail-industry chief marketing officers.

 Many retailers used gift cards as on-the-spot incentives in stores during the height of the shopping season.  Teen retailer American Eagle Outfitters Inc. handed out $10 cards with any gift cards purchase, to be redeemed between Dec. 24 and Jan. 25.

 For the full article, please click here: http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-gift-cards-20111228,0,4887455.story

 If these initiatives are of interest to you and yours, please click through the links below.

 TexasRoadhouse

The Red Cross partners with Texas Roadhouse
http://www.midlandsconnect.com/news/story.aspx?id=695651

 Stage Stores

“Bears that Care”. Stage Stores will donate a $1 to Toys for Tots for every bear purchased (they will make a minimum donation of $10,000 up to a maximum $150,000.)
http://shop.stagestores.com/kids/toys/stuffed-animals-pillow-pets.html

 Logan’s Roadhouse

Logan’s Gives Back for Breast Cancer Awareness
http://logansinthecarolinas.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=section&layout=blog&id=6&Itemid=53

 Express

Giving@Express supporting Dress for Success and other non-profit initiatives
http://www.express.com/custserv/about.jsp?pageName=Community

 Legal Seafoods

From now through New Year’s Eve, Legal Sea Foods will donate a portion of the proceeds from every gift card sold to Children’s Hospital Boston, plus a bonus for you!

 CharityChoice   

Give the gift of charity, and allow your recipients to choose from over 250 causes.  CharityChoice cards are available in plastic or ecodes.
www.charitygiftcertificates.org

 Wishing you a warm holiday season, and we look forward to an inspiring and prosperous 2012!  See you next year…

This isn’t limited to only merchandise this holiday season—trends are up for all holiday gift items—including gift cards. According to an article by Ceridian (SVS), a leading provider of prepaid gift cards and stored value solutions, retail buying patterns illustrate shoppers are continuing to flock to gift cards for their flexibility, while retailers embrace them as a means to increase sales.

Pre-holiday consumer spending surveys also suggest ‘Happy Holidays’ for gift card sales in the fourth quarter:

- Nearly 60 percent of consumers say Gift Cards are the #1 item they plan to give this year

- Consumers named Gift Cards as the most desired gift to receive this year (5 years in a row)

- Consumers spend an average of 80-90 percent more than the face value of gift cards

- Over 50 percent of U.S.employers use Gift Cards to recognize employees contributions

- Use of Gift Cards as employee incentives is forecast to increase 23 percent by 2012

- 15 percent of U.S.corporations have annual Incentive Gift Card budgets of more than $100K

Great news for retailers who can enjoy the lift that new gift card customers create, fantastic for businesses looking for a gift for a talented staff, and wonderful news for shoppers—who often have more than one “hard to buy for” person on their lists. Gift cards are a positive holiday solution for retailers, businesses, and consumers alike—and that’s the good news for ALL this holiday season!

 Why you say?

 Sears and Kmart gift cards make a great addition to your Scrip program because of all the great products they have to offer, not to mention those top name brands likeKenmoreand Craftsman.  Sears & Kmart gift cards are available in denominations from $10-$500 and redeemable at more than 3,500 convenient retail locations and online at Sears.com. Kmart.com, LandsEnd.com, and TheGreatIndoors.com.  There are no expiration dates or dormancy fees.  Sears & Kmart gift cards are a smart and easy way for everyone to give back to the community without digging deeper into their pockets. If Sears and Kmart gift cards aren’t a part of your scrip program, make sure to add them today! 

 If your school or nonprofit organization doesn’t have a scrip program, or would like to learn more about scrip programs, please give us a call today at 877-824-3581 or visit us online www.searsbusinessgiftcards.com/fundraising. Let us show you how a scrip fundraising program can help raise money for your organization today

 According to this article by Ehow Money, gift cards can be the answer. All of our clients have corporate gift card programs that allow employers to buy gift cards in bulk and at a discount for employee gifts. In addition, some of the most popular gifts this year are available by merchants who also have corporate gift card programs including Barnes & Noble who is launching their new Nook Tablet this month in time for the holidays and Sears who offers the increasingly popular Microsoft Kinect Sensor Xbox 360.

By selecting the right gift card and including a handwritten note of thanks to each employee for their contributions during the year, you’ll stay within your budget while making your team feel valued by and possibly more loyal towards the larger organization.

 We represent over 25 national brands, all of which offer corporate gift card programs. To learn more about how to buy discounted gift cards in bulk for your employee gifts, click here or call us at 877-447-5429.

Step 1: Do your research.

Browse through those Black Friday Ads and Flyers. These will be your number one source for Black Friday savings. It will also help you organize your day and  maximize savings, since many stores offer special discounts that are time specific. You will also be able to compare pricing on similar products at different retailers.

In addition to investigating the best deals, it’s also helpful to do a little research on the products you are looking to purchase. Being knowledgeable about the products you want to buy will help you avoid being influenced by loud advertising and huge savings for poor products.

Step 2: Decide when to shop.

Some stores offer early bird specials, which usually run from 5 a.m. until 11 a.m. Be sure to check your favorite store’s hours- some may be opening at midnight with even earlier early bird deals. (You know what they say about the early bird…)

Step 3: Decide where to shop.

If you like the thrill of being around hundreds of shoppers and standing in line, then in-store shopping is for you. Some retailers even offer exclusive discounts if you check-in at their location so be on the lookout for those specials as you wait in line. Also, if shopping in-store, make sure to have those ads handy, especially for price-match deals.

If you’d rather stay at home and shop in your PJ’s, you’re in luck! Internet shoppers can join, or even beat the early birds by shopping online in the wee hours of Black Friday. Many retailers offer the option of ordering online and picking-up in store. You may even come across special “web only” deals that may not be available in store.

Step 4: When in doubt, think gift cards!

With all of the once-in-a-life time deals and numerous sales that take place Black Friday weekend, you still may have trouble finding that perfect gift. Cue in: gift cards. Gift cards allow your gift recipient to choose what they want while still remaining personal- a gift card to their favorite store or a gift card with a picture of their pet on the front are always fun and thoughtful options. And even though they may miss using their gift during Black Friday, there are always those post-Christmas sales to take advantage of! And just think…carrying around a gift card all day is much easier than lugging around a 42” television!

Not able to make it out to the stores to buy one? No problem- both plastic and electronic gift cards are available to purchase online and can be delivered directly to your recipient. Black Friday shopping= no sweat!

Happy Shopping!

 Though plastic gift cards overwhelmingly make up the gift card market, it’s anticipated that by the year 2014, online gift card sales will top $5.8 billion¹. And technology has made gift card buying and use much easier, with 42% of merchants currently offering an e-card option². Many of those now also allow for consumers to spend gift cards using their smart phones.   This ability typically requires a bit more of an investment by the retailer, but 2011 is seeing growth as many make this investment for their customers to have instant access to a new method of currency.  More can be found on who’s in the mobile gift card space here: http://www.creditcards.com/credit-card-news/mobile_gift_cards-1271.php

 Are you ready to capture your I Want It Now customers?  It may be time to join the growing trend.

 ¹ Survey conducted by Javelin in 2009

² Bankrate.com, December 2010

 Back home, you ponder the purchases you have made at some top name brand stores and restaurants—places like Sears, Boscov’s and Texas Roadhouse.  What you don’t realize is that you could have also just earned $122 for your kids’ school!

 How is this even possible?  The answer is scrip!

 Every parent dreads the packets their kids bring home during the first week of school encouraging them to sell whatever the product is this year to raise money for their school.  It’s extra time and money spent on top of everything else you need to do; and let’s face it you don’t need another roll of wrapping paper!  Scrip on the other hand allows you to raise money for your school by purchasing the every day things you need and already intended to buy (i.e. groceries, gas, entertainment, gifts, etc.).

 The concept is simple:  Schools purchase gift cards from retailers at a discount and re-sell them to families at face value. The difference is the proceeds that go to the school to fund things such as new classroom equipment, field trips, supplies, etc.

 There are over 15,000 non-profit organizations, including schools that are taking advantage of scrip fundraising right now (Source: Great LakesScripCenter)!  All that’s required of you to make scrip fundraising a success is plan your purchases ahead of time and pay with a gift card versus cash, debit, or credit.

 It’s easy and it works for 2 reasons:

            1.  You are purchasing gift cards from well-known retailers who you already intended to buy from.

            2.  You don’t have to spend extra money or accumulate more items in your home to support a cause because you’re raising money by purchasing those everyday items you already know you need and have to buy.

 With the holidays around the corner and lots of shopping in everyone’s future, now is the time to get started!

 Contact Stoner Bunting Gift Cards at 877.447.5429 today to learn how you can support your school or non-profit with a scrip fundraising program.

According to a report by First Data , “The peak retail season is no longer a Black Friday-to-Christmas Eve shopping marathon. It’s not even a Halloween-to-Christmas Eve event. This year, some retailers are strategically placing their holiday merchandise in their brick-and-mortar stores in September—in an effort to allow customers to budget purchases over an extended period as an offset to the weak economy.”

So don’t be surprised if you see holiday gift cards and packaging popping up at your favorite retailers! The buying season has expanded, according to the same First Data article “The largest percentage of prepaid cards will still be activated in the weeks between Black Friday and Christmas Eve.

A growing trend that will continue into the holiday season is the growth in online activations of eGift and virtual gift card products. Retailers will take advantage of the immediacy the digital commerce channels bring to fulfill consumers’ purchasing intent. Michael Hursta, vice president and general manager of Closed-loop Prepaid for First Data Corporation, believes that the strong consumer adoption trends of smart phones and tablet devices will allow for more personalization of virtual gift cards. “Consumers who are fully engaged with their mobile devices are looking for services that will maximize their feature-rich capabilities. There will be a lot of experimentation this holiday shopping season as retailers combine the multimedia capabilities of these devices with virtual gift cards to add personalization and visual impact to the gift giving experience.”

With this expanded season and multiple gift giving options—holiday shopping has never been easier! So get ready to have your shopping done early (no last minute shopping excuses!) and fill your family and friends wallets (and virtual wallets) with gift cards to their favorite retailers this season.

 The show itself has become increasingly dedicated to education which attracts higher quality leads vs. the large quantity of leads in the past, despite the fact that the number of exhibitors has decreased over the last several years.

 Registration for all attendee badge categories topped 5,000, with an additional 1,500 for exhibitor personnel, bringing the final registration figure to more than 6,500.

 “This was our best opening day in years!” said Pete Erickson, Managing Director of The Motivation Show.  “The strong conference program on Tuesday contributed to a quick start in the exhibit hall on Wednesday morning and the quality of the audience this year was exceptional.  Over 88 percent of our registrants represented a net buying influence which is well above the all-show average of 80 percent.”

 We talked to many re-sellers and ecerts continue to be a hot item – so look out for holiday gift giving, your special present to your favorite store or restaurant might be in your “inbox” and not under the tree….

From Paper to Plastic to Online……..QR Codes were everywhere …..

We distributed a plastic card with information about participating brands and had QR codes placed on the actual banners. The QR code linked directly to the brand information page of the Stoner Bunting Gift Cards web site.  Is this the new way of communicating info – guess so – we’ll see how the numbers look and if it is a continuing strategy….