How Gift Cards Can Help Boost Restaurant Sales

When days are busy and your customers are feeling weary, they need a place to rest and refuel.

As they sit at your table and enjoy the soup of the day or a cheesy, melty sandwich, imagine if they looked up to see a tasteful display of gift cards . Perhaps that combined with the tasty lunch makes them think of a friend who would enjoy your restaurant. So, they purchase a gift card on the way out the door. In this situation, you’ve doubled your sales from one customer. Just imagine how much your profits could grow if others followed suit. 

Dream sales scenarios like this don’t happen without effort on your part. To truly impress your customers and inspire them to purchase that gift card, you need to offer the best experience possible.

What do customers see when they walk in the door? Is your restaurant clean and inviting, or is there an atmosphere of complete chaos? Are they greeted at the door, or do they have to search for the host or hostess? These factors and more contribute to the guest experience of your restaurant. Offering great experiences is one of the best ways to help build customer loyalty and generate positive buzz in your area. 

Why You Need to Sell Gift Cards at Your Restaurant

When a customer wants to give a gift that’s a little more personal than cash, they will often choose to purchase a gift card. This goes for all types of businesses - restaurants, retail stores, grocery stores, and more. 

While the holidays are typically the most popular time for gift card purchases, customers look for gift cards throughout the year. They can be purchased for special occasions like weddings, birthdays, or graduations, but also just as a “thinking of you” gift. And that’s not all. A recent study found that 64% of consumers bought a gift card for themselves in 2018. 

Why do consumers choose to purchase gift cards for themselves? Well, many gift cards today can be linked to loyalty programs. The issuing store or restaurant can then offer discounts and incentives to those who choose to continually load a gift card and use it as their form of payment. To learn more about linking your gift and loyalty program, contact Electronic Merchant Systems ! 

So, why does your restaurant need to offer gift cards? In the interest of reading time, we’ll just say this: gift cards are a simple, risk-free way to grow profits . 

When a customer purchases a gift card from your restaurant, they essentially pre-pay for a future purchase. Sometimes, that future purchase is never made, which means you keep all the gift card amount as profit. Alternatively, most customers who pay with a gift card will end up spending more than their gift card is worth – about $59 more, according to a 2018 study.

Check out these other gift card statistics:

• 44% of consumers say they visited a new store or restaurant because they had a gift card
• 54% of consumers expect to purchase a gift card from a restaurant or coffee shop
• 8 in 10 consumers expect to purchase more than one gift card at a time 
• Gift cards are the most requested gift

 
Have we convinced you yet? 

How to Promote Your Gift Cards

Now that you see why your restaurant needs to sell gift cards, let’s look at some ideas for how to promote them.

1. Hold a Contest

Everyone likes free stuff, especially if they win it! Try holding a contest for every customer who purchases a gift card. You don’t have to give away a free car or anything extravagant, just put together a basket of goodies from your restaurant or an appealing discount offer. Then, ask each customer who purchases a gift card to write down their name and phone number or email address to be contacted if they win. (Side note: be sure to keep their information on file after the contest is over. It may come in handy for future marketing purposes!)

2. Create an Eye-Catching Design

Grab the attention of your customers with unique, attractive gift card designs. It’s a good idea to invest in new cards as the seasons change, to keep the look fresh and interesting. Remember, the cards will represent your restaurant, so make sure they include your logo and colors. If you need help creating the perfect design, contact the creative professionals at Electronic Merchant Systems. They will be happy to assist you with a custom design. 

3. Incentivize Employees

Create a little friendly competition among your employees by offering a reward or prize for the person who sells the most gift cards. Again, the prize doesn’t have to be extravagant, just something special to recognize their hard work. This is a great way to keep servers engaged with customers throughout their work day and bring in additional revenue for your restaurant.

4. Offer a Great Value

Customers love contests, but they also love discounts and promotions. Especially during busy gift-card-buying seasons like the holidays or graduation time, offer additional value with your gift cards. Some examples of this could be:

• 15% off a meal with purchase of a gift card 
• Buy $200 worth of gift cards, get a $25 card for free
• Buy three gift cards, get one free
• Get a $60 gift card for $50

Valuable promotions like these give customers who may be on the fence about purchasing a reason to get that gift card. There’s no arguing with a great deal!

Increase Profits with Gift Cards

If you’re looking for an easy way to boost profits for your restaurant, gift cards may be the answer. Remember, to inspire customers to buy those cards you will first need to delight them with a great experience. Combine these strategies, and you’ll be on your way to sweet restaurant success. 

Want more tips on building a successful restaurant business? Click here!

Sources: UpServe , Restaurant Dive , Toast