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Helping Your Business > Marketing & Promotions > NGI gift cards
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Introduction
Did you know that in New Zealand, some 280,000 NGI paper gift vouchers are sold each year?
The NZ scheme has grown 400% over the last 10 years and sales passed $4 million in 2004.
In the USA, 8% of all retail spending last Christmas was for plastic gift cards.
Plastic gift cards are the fastest growing retail product in the world; they have been embraced by both the general public and a wide range of Australian retailers, including Coles, Myer, Woolworths, David Jones, Bunnings, Mitre 10 and Repco.
The Horticulture Trades Association, (the association representing the UK garden industry) reports the following benefits of a national card scheme:
- Increased customer traffic – 55% of purchasers make a special visit to buy gift cards. In the UK, this equates to over 800,000 extra garden centre visits per year
- Generation of impulse sales – 67% of customers make other purchases when buying gift cards. In the UK, this equates to nearly 1 million extra purchases
- Greater recipient spending – 78% of gift card recipients spend more than the face value of the gift and 29% spend at least double, providing an additional cash boost to the transaction. In the UK, 70% of purchases are on high margin plant products.
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Why does our industry need a national gift card scheme?
To generate new customers and revenue streams for retail garden centres, and allow them to compete with larger outlets and national chains in attracting new customers and in-store traffic. In most cases every gift card sale represents two customer visits – one by the buyer and one by the redeemer.
Why will the public purchase gift cards?
Gift cards are the ideal gift for all ages.
Gift cards are affordable, and can be purchased for any value between $10 and $1,000.
Gift cards can be used for a wide range of occasions including birthdays, Christmas, Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentine’s Day, thank you, housewarming, new job and retirement.
Gift cards are easy to send through the post and allow the recipient greater choice and flexibility as they can choose from a wide range of products.
The NGI Gift Card scheme is national.
Gift cards are particularly popular with time-poor Australians, and younger purchasers who are ‘voucher savvy’ as well as those who want to send gifts from overseas or interstate.
The NGI gift card program explained
The NGI gift card scheme is open to all members of NGIA nationally.
Retailers sign an agreement with NGIA’s card transaction management partner (Retail Decisions) to participate in the scheme. This will allow for gift card transactions to be added and/or deducted from their account, and for transfers to and from the NGIA host account.
The cards are displayed at the retail point of sale and function like an electronic debit card – simply swiped through the EFTPOS machine and the desired load-up amount is keyed in.
Participating members will be sent a start-up pack for an initial investment of $100. The start up pack includes:
- 50 plastic gift cards (non-activated)
- 40 ‘Life is a Garden’ greeting cards with a RRP of $2.95 (so income generation begins immediately)
- 40 card wallets for those consumers who do not wish to buy a greeting card
- 1 store decal
- 1 display box for the gift cards and greeting cards.
Customers are able to locate participating retailers via a listing available on the consumer website www.lifeisagarden.com.au. This listing is regularly updated with new participants.
For customers who live overseas or in remote areas, the cards are available for purchase over the internet.
One of the advantages of this scheme is that the cards have no value until they are activated through a participating retailer. Once activated the transaction process is a ‘closed loop’ that ensures the card cannot be re-used or re-sold. There is a pin number that is recorded with each transaction, and only participating NGI members will have the required activation equipment for the NGI Gift Cards.
Gift Card Consumer Promotion
NGI is promoting the program to consumers through various forms of media, and funds generated by the scheme are be re-invested over time for the promotion of the NGI gift card scheme.
Targeted marketing ensures consumers are aware of the availability of the NGI cards.
However, the most targeted promotion will be in your retail outlet.
In your start up pack you will get a decal promoting the program for display within your centre. The best places to display this decal would be in areas where your customers look for gifts. Such areas could include:
- Flowering plants
- Indoor plants
- Gift, pot and toy displays
- Mother’s Day and Easter
- Seasonal displays such as Christmas, Mother’s Day, Easter
- Next to the cash register/service desk.
Artwork for the gift card scheme is accessible by members to include in their in store signage.
Life is a Garden Greeting Cards
 
These greeting cards (packaged with an envelope) are designed to be sold alongside the NGI gift cards, and have the potential for generating additional revenue. The greeting cards can be retailed with or without the gift cards. It is intended that the design of the greeting cards will change with seasons, campaigns and special events.
The Life is a Garden Campaign is the first creative concept in a planned line of supporting promotional and consumer collateral.
How does the NGI gift card system work?
The NGI gift card scheme is modern, automated and administered in one central location. The steps are simple:
When a customer purchases the card:
1. The retailer receives payment (e.g. cash, credit/debit card) for the amount the consumer wishes to load onto the card.
2. The card is swiped through the EFTPOS terminal and the refund button is pressed to load the amount
3. The transaction is loaded onto the host settlement system computer and the card is activated
4. The EFTPOS transaction debits the retailer’s bank account and credits the NGIA settlement system with the value of the transaction.
When a customer redeems the card:
1. The card is swiped through the EFTPOS terminal and the value held on the host computer is displayed. The retailer can accept payment/part payment of the goods up to that value.
2. The NGIA settlement system manages the redemption by debiting the host system and crediting the retailer for the value of the transaction, less a 3% charge for managing the process and covering any merchant fees.
3. Retailers are not required to give cash as change if the card is not fully redeemed.
About Retail Decisions
Retail Decisions (ReD) is a world class payment processor and a world leader in card fraud prevention who provide specialist online payment processing services to the retail sector. Within Australia, Retail Decisions process in excess of 85% of the gift card market. Some of the support services they will provide for the NGI gift card scheme include: management and administration support systems, operation and technical support, and a 24 x 7 call centre.
How do I get involved?
Signing up for this industry wide initiative is simple.
1. Fill in the Merchant Participation Agreement below and fax it to Retail Decisions. They will mail you the appropriate activation kit, to activate your EFTPOS terminal so you can issue and redeem cards.
2. Fill in the second form – an order form for the gift card starter pack ($100) and fax to the number shown on the form. Please make sure you fill in your credit card details.
3. You will then receive instructions from Retail Decisions in the EFTPOS activation procedure and delivery of your starter pack from trio Print Management.
NB: If you are currently running your own gift card scheme, don’t worry. The NGI gift card scheme will complement any individual scheme AND open up the opportunity for new customers.
Click here to download the NGI Gift Cards information brochure.
Click here to download the NGI Gift Cards Merchant Participation Agreement.
Click here to download the NGI Gift Cards Order Form.
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Please note: To participate in the NGI Gift Card Scheme, you will need to complete and send both the Merchant Participation Agreement and Order Form
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