What impact do gift cards have on brand applications and mobile wallets?
Gift cards have long been a popular gift and a well-known method for boosting sales and fostering customer loyalty. With the evolution of mobile technologies, gift cards have adapted to offer a smoother and more convenient experience. Today, they can be registered and used via mobile applications and digital wallets, transforming how consumers receive, store, and spend them. Here, we explore everything you need to know about integrating gift cards into mobile applications and wallets, and why this innovation is a significant advantage for businesses.
Gift cards enhance mobile applications
Mobile applications: an opportunity for e-commerce
Mobile applications dominate with over 218 billion downloads in 2023, and users spend 90% of their time on apps rather than mobile browsers. Companies with apps see a significant increase in sales, ranging from 20% to 50%, and apps generate 30% more conversions compared to mobile sites. Mobile apps offer personalized interaction, thereby boosting customer engagement and loyalty.
E-gift cards at the heart of mobile strategy
Mobile applications are essential for the success of brands today. Integrating digital gift cards into these apps is a crucial strategy to increase sales, enhance the customer experience, and strengthen loyalty.
Here’s how they transform this experience:
Simplified registration and management: Users can easily register their gift cards in a brand's app. This eliminates the need to keep physical cards and allows real-time tracking of the remaining balance. For example, the Starbucks app allows users to add and manage multiple gift cards, check their balance, and even reload cards directly from the app. This feature encourages users to download the mobile app and potentially make purchases through it, contributing to their next shopping experience.
Precise tracking and personalization of offers through gift card registration: Once gift card holders have registered their card on the mobile app, brands can track data more accurately. Logically, if you register a gift card on the app, you have created an account or already had one. Therefore, the brand can now identify the recipient and know they possess a card. This enables the brand to send incentivizing messages and track the initial expenditures with the gift card: where they buy, whether the card is divisible, what they bought, etc., thus fostering a more personalized relationship.
Seamless in-store use: With gift cards registered in the app, customers can pay by scanning a simple barcode or QR code at the checkout, simplifying the payment process. Target, for example, allows its customers to use their gift cards through its app, making transactions faster and more convenient. This facilitates the development of relevant app-to-store techniques for the brand.
Personalized offers and promotions: Mobile apps enable businesses to offer personalized promotions to gift card holders. For instance, a user could receive exclusive offers or discounts when using their gift card to encourage further purchases.
Ease of sharing: E-gift cards can be sent instantly via mobile apps. For example, Amazon allows sending gift cards by email or SMS directly from their app, making it easier to share between friends and family. This significantly extends the brand's reach and facilitates the promotion of offers with the gift card, ideal for boosting sales, especially by encouraging repeat purchases, particularly during peak times.
Highlighting and maximizing the impact of gift cards on mobile applications
Highlighting gift cards on the mobile application
The gift card service for individuals is easily adaptable to mobile, adding a service dimension to the application, thereby providing additional value, in addition to an experience equivalent to the e-commerce site if the service is already in place. Just like on the e-commerce site, it is important to work on the visibility of the gift card.
Highlighting gift cards on the mobile application:
Visibility in the app menu: Gift cards should be easily accessible via the main menu of the application. A dedicated tab for gift cards allows users to find them quickly and order in a few clicks.
Promotions during peak periods with pop-ups: During high commercial activity periods, such as sales or holidays, using pop-ups on the app can draw users' attention to gift cards. For example, Airbnb uses this strategy to promote special offers on its app.
Promotion on the app's home screen: Highlighting gift cards directly on the application's home screen ensures maximum visibility. This can include promotional banners or widgets that catch the eye as soon as the app is opened.
Offer as an alternative when out of stock: During high demand periods, offering gift cards as alternatives when a product is out of stock can help convert visitors into buyers. This ensures that customers always have an available option, even when the products they want are temporarily unavailable.
Gift cards as a mobile marketing tool
Digital gift cards are an excellent marketing tool to highlight the mobile application and encourage its adoption.
Marketing campaigns to stimulate app adoption: Gift cards can be used to entice customers to download and use the mobile application. An effective marketing campaign could involve offering a gift card with a predefined value (e.g., €5 or €10) for any first order placed through the app. This strategy can be reinforced by targeted email campaigns, encouraging customers to discover the benefits of using the app.
Encouraging new shopping habits: Once a customer receives a digital gift card, they are more likely to register it on their mobile and try shopping via the app. If this experience is positive, the customer is more likely to continue using the app for future purchases, thereby creating new shopping habits.
An optimized path to encourage gift card registration on mobile
Clear instructions in receipt emails and on the pdf: When customers receive an e-gift card via email or in printed (PDF) format, it is essential to provide clear instructions on how to register it on the mobile app. An explicit CTA, with a direct link to the app, facilitates this process.
Highlighting the benefits of app registration: The advantages of registering gift cards on the app should be clearly communicated. This can include aspects such as ease of use, enhanced security, and the ability to benefit from exclusive promotions or track purchase history.
Gift cards in mobile wallets
Another option for brands is the ability to register gift cards in mobile wallets. Mobile wallets are gaining popularity: according to Statista, in 2023, over 1.5 billion people worldwide use mobile wallets to make payments, store loyalty cards, and gift cards.
A feature already adopted by gift card holders: 30% register their gift cards in a mobile wallet, and this number is increasing. During peak times, gift card registrations in mobile wallets are three times higher compared to the rest of the year.
What is a Mobile Wallet?
A mobile wallet is a digital service on a phone that allows the storage of payment information, loyalty cards, gift cards, and even electronic tickets. These wallets facilitate contactless transactions and simplify the management of various cards and payment methods.
Mobile wallets, such as Apple Wallet, Google Wallet, or Samsung Wallet, store information securely using technologies like encryption and biometric authentication (fingerprint or facial recognition). This makes accessing cards and payments both convenient and safe.
Multi-retailer compatibility: Unlike single-brand apps, mobile wallets can store gift cards from multiple retailers, allowing users to manage all their cards in one place. This is particularly useful for users who have gift cards from various brands.
The Advantages of Mobile Wallets
Integration into brand ecosystems: Apps like Uber and Airbnb allow users to store their gift cards directly in the mobile wallet, ensuring they are always available when needed. This integration simplifies the use of cards and encourages brand loyalty.
Consolidation of payment methods: By grouping gift cards and payment methods in a single application, users can manage their funds more efficiently.
Notifications and reminders: Mobile wallets are a new communication channel and entry point to reach previously anonymous recipients. Through the wallet, brands can send push notifications to users about the use of their gift cards, informing them of expiring balances or available promotions. This helps maximize the use of cards and encourages customers to return.
Ease of use: Mobile wallets simplify the use of gift cards by allowing them to be used directly at the checkout or online without having to manually enter card numbers. Apple Wallet, for example, allows easy presentation of gift cards using a QR code or barcode.
Integration of mobile wallets in the gift card reception process
To maximize the effectiveness of digital gift cards and enhance the customer experience, it is crucial to properly integrate mobile wallets into the gift card reception process. When sending gift cards by email or via a printable PDF, it is essential to provide clear instructions on how to register them in mobile wallets, such as Apple Wallet, Google Wallet, and possibly Samsung Wallet. This integration should include explicit calls to action that direct users directly to the registration process for these platforms.
Including these instructions in the reception email and on the printable PDF is essential, as it allows reaching all types of recipients, whether they prefer a digital or printed version.
In addition to step-by-step guides, it is important to highlight the main benefits of registering the card in a mobile wallet. These benefits include the convenience of quickly accessing the card from their smartphone, the additional security provided by these wallets, and the ability to receive real-time notifications for special offers or reminders to use the gift card before it expires.
By smoothly integrating mobile wallet options into the reception process, brands not only ensure that their customers benefit from an optimal user experience but also strengthen their ability to engage and retain these customers in the long term. This not only facilitates the use of gift cards but also opens the door to more direct and personalized communication with users, thereby increasing conversion and additional sales opportunities.
Is it more beneficial for brands to have a mobile wallet or an integrated wallet in their application?
For brands with an application that integrates a wallet and considering the option of adding a separate mobile wallet, the choice primarily depends on the objectives and the target clientele.
Integrating a wallet into an existing application offers the advantage of centralizing all functionalities within the same ecosystem, thereby providing a smooth and coherent user experience. This also allows the brand to maximize engagement by directing users to a single platform to manage their gift cards and payment methods. Moreover, the brand owns and manages all the data.
On the other hand, offering an independent mobile wallet can broaden the brand's reach by capturing a potentially wider audience, especially those who prefer using dedicated wallets and might not download the brand's main application. This approach also offers increased flexibility by allowing users to choose the wallet that best suits their preferences and usage habits.
Therefore, the decision between integrating a wallet into an existing application, offering a distinct mobile wallet, or providing both options depends on the brand's strategic objectives, understanding of its clientele's preferences, and the ability to deliver an optimal user experience. The key lies in creating a solution that effectively meets consumer needs while enhancing brand engagement and loyalty.
For example: If the goal is to maximize user engagement and strengthen loyalty, integrating a wallet into the brand's existing application is ideal. If the goal is to centralize user data and better understand their behaviors and preferences, the application remains crucial.
However, if the goal is to provide maximum flexibility to users by allowing them to choose their preferred wallet, offering registration on a mobile wallet like Apple Pay is pertinent.
The integration of gift cards into mobile applications and digital wallets represents a major shift in how businesses and consumers interact with these products. By offering simplified management, enhanced security, and increased convenience, these technologies transform gift cards into powerful tools for driving customer loyalty and engagement. For businesses, adopting these innovations is essential to remain competitive in a constantly evolving market. For consumers, it means greater flexibility and ease in using their gift cards, increasing their satisfaction and likelihood to return.
Ultimately, whether through branded applications or mobile wallets, digital gift cards represent the future of transactions and customer loyalty.
